Solar Can't Live by Efficiency Alone.

Semiconductor International, May, 2009

Aaron Hand, Executive Editor, Electronic Media

For those looking at various solar cell technologies, it may be easy to get caught up in cell efficiency numbers and assume that such low conversion efficiencies couldn't possibly add up to a viable energy resource. Solar modules based on silicon wafer solar cells convert typically 15-20% of the sun's energy into DC power, and the conversion numbers for thin-film solar technologies are considerably lower, with recent achievements more in the 8-10% range. But cell efficiency is just one number in a larger equation that must consider manufacturing costs, installation, space allotted, the sun's heat, and many more factors.

Despite the lower conversion efficiency, thin-film module makers are likely to reach...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.