Over the years, we have witnessed solar panels appearing on the top of roofs around the world where they are usually ideally placed to capture the rays of the sun to achieve maximum benefit. They can also be spotted in peoples’ gardens where they are ground mounted.
You can even find solar arrays in patches of countryside in various parts of the UK and we have also reported on one being constructed on a reservoir. In the main, solar photovoltaic panels are of a rigid construction. Some time ago, we also commented about an Australian building being constructed with tiles that incorporated solar panels in them.
However, this may be changing as scientists at the University of Toronto are researching the use of spraying solar cells onto surfaces that are flexible by utilizing very small light sensitive materials that are called colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). In due course, these scientists would love to see the spraying of solar cells onto your roof.
They could also be sprayed onto so many different things such as on the roof of a car to power some light bulbs. It is believed that this system would not result in any significant loss in the efficiency of these solar cells. Obviously, it would be necessary to work out how to further develop this process to make it marketable to the public.
It will be interesting to monitor how this research progresses in the coming months/years and also to find out how much a solar panel system like this costs in comparison to the traditional solar photovoltaic system.
We would welcome the views of all of you reading this post. What do you think about the above research? Do you think it possible that it could be developed to a point where it can be manufactured and go on sale to the general public?
We look forward to hearing from you.
