Ensol, a company in Norway teamed up with University of Leicester scientists to develop a revolutionary substance that may be able to turn your windows, mobile phone, or computer screen into a solar panel.
This exciting breakthrough in solar technology may allow folks to spray the substance directly onto a flat surface, transforming the surface into a mini, (or large as with an entire building), solar panel. Developing such transparent or as they say, translucent types of surfaces is not yet complete.
Instead of merely putting a couple of solar panels on your roof or the one side of your home that gets adequate sunlight, it may be possible to turn entire structures into huge collectors of the sun's energy. And rather than using material like silicone, this new technology uses strings of nano-particles - much thinner that a human hair. At present, the spray-on / painted-on film is expected to be able to generate about 100 Watts per square meter.
Phil Denby, the technical manager at EnSol originally discovered the technology and decided to team up with the folks at the University of Leicester. Together, Mr. Denby and the talented scientists at U of L are now fine-tuning the production process and working on applications of the amazing material.
With the popularity of the Environmental movement, it is surely time that solar panels and the way we think about capturing the energy of the sun are updated. The possibilities of this exciting new technology could mean a huge decrease in our dependence on oil and natural gas.
Perhaps some day we will even be able to generate enough energy on our own, from our own homes, to surpass our consumption. Until this technology is available, there are a variety of ways you can cut down on your energy usage including constructing your own DIY solar panels at home!
Making a solar panel is not only great for the environment, but could teach you, and your children a lot about science and solar energy.
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