New Solar Cell Sets Record For Energy Efficiency 165
Lucas123 writes "After three years of work, German and French researchers have achieved a new world record on converting sunlight to energy through a photovoltaic cell, achieving a 44.7% rate of efficiency, which was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. The efficiency rating means the solar cell collects 44.7% of the sun's spectrum's energy, from ultraviolet to the infrared spectrum, which is converted into electrical energy. The team of researchers said the technology places them on the path to achieving their roadmap of 50% efficiency in solar energy conversion."
Re:Price dropping, usage growing, rage increasing (Score:5, Insightful)
As usual, an XKCD [xkcd.com] comic applies...
You always have to be careful about extrapolation. What looks like exponential growth is unlikely to stay that way as further order effects come into play.
Re:The 44.7% efficiency requires 297 suns (Score:5, Insightful)
It will take a while for the technology to hit the manufacturers but it will hit panels for satellites first. When you are paying $20k per pound (0.5kg) to put something in space if you can get a higher efficiency with less weight you can pay a LOT more for the panels and still come out ahead.
Re:297 Suns? (Score:4, Insightful)
I do not think pholtovoltaics are limited by the Carnot efficiency, which applies to the conversion of heat to mechanical work in heat engines. The energy stored electrochemically in batteries can exceed the Carnot efficiency, as can fuel cells.
Re:The 44.7% efficiency requires 297 suns (Score:4, Insightful)
It's not really efficiency that determines the profitability of solar cells. It's the ratio of Efficiency / $. These might be the most efficient ever produced, but they're likely substantially more expensive than the 15% variety (i.e. 3x more efficiency at 10x the cost).
Re:So what, nearly 4 watts per square metre? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sunlight at high noon directly overhead is close to 1000 watts per square meter. My neighbor's roof has panels about 2x4 ft (a bit less than a square meter) that are rated at 120 watts output each. Her rooftop array of just a dozen panels provided 100% of her consumption last year, per her net metering annual bill.
It's a very modest sized house, One bedroom, one bath, about 1000 square feet, but it is also a very modest sized array.