Solar Cell Fabric uses the suns energy to power up all your devices
Sep 13, 2018 – Solar Cell Fabric Uses The Suns Energy and Wind to Power up Your Devices. A piece of Solar Cell Fabric woven with special strands of material that harvest electricity from the sun and motion. … “The fabric is highly flexible, breathable, light weight and adaptable to a range of uses,” Wang said.
Solar cell fabric
is a fabric with embedded photovoltaic (PV) cells which generate electricity when exposed to light. Traditional silicon based solar cells are expensive to manufacture, rigid and fragile. Although less efficient, thin-film cells and organic polymer based cells can be produced quickly and cheaply. They are also flexible and can be stitched onto fabric. According to an article from New Scientist researchers have built a PV cell in the layers around a fiber, creating a tiny cylindrical cell. No longer limited to rooftops and poles, solar collection could work silently and unobtrusively from everyday objects.Examples of recent research
Flexible solar fabric cells can be used in humanitarian aid. A makeshift shelter developed by PowerFilm, Inc. called the PowerShade can generate one kilowatt of power. This could help a power emergency equipment at short notice in remote places.
Konarka Technologies produce a thin film polymer based PV cell, as a flexible film stitched onto a solar fabric. The ability to make these cells even smaller is dependent on further research into nanocrystal PV solar cells. In theory nanotechnology could provide a way to expand the range of photons a solar cell could collect, increasing its efficiency while becoming smaller. Konarka, in partner with other institutions, was working on this.
ShadePlex is currently developing a product that integrates thin film photovoltaic modules with architectural solar fabrics. They will feature a high power output (200 W, 500 W, and 1000 W), and can feed either a battery system or be tied to the grid. Integrating thin film photovoltaics with solar fabric structures will enable a whole class of buildings to easily integrate renewable energy solutions.
