News tagged with solar panels

Dragon arrives at space station in historic 1st (Update 2)

The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station on Friday, triumphantly captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 20

Building a better solar panel -- one molecule at a time

(Phys.org) -- One of the fundamental building blocks in modern chemistry, an organometallic chemical compound called ferrocene, has never been structurally defined - until now.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Solar-panel-like retinal prosthesis could better restore sight to blind

(Phys.org) -- Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created May 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Cheap, abundant cathode material found for producing hydrogen fuel (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- By replacing catalysts made of expensive noble metals like platinum with cheaper, earth-abundant materials, researchers have taken a step toward enabling the large-scale production of hydrogen ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 10, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (22) | comments 60 | with audio podcast feature

Engineers aim to boost the future of renewable energy by collecting solar power in space

Solar power gathered in space could be set to provide the renewable energy of the future thanks to innovative research being carried out by engineers at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (6) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Folding light: Wrinkles and twists boost power from solar panels

Taking their cue from the humble leaf, researchers have used microscopic folds on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Barrier to faster graphene devices identified and suppressed

These days graphene is the rock star of materials science, but it has an Achilles heel: It is exceptionally sensitive to its electrical environment.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 13, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (19) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Naked Energy touts hybrid solar panel in tube design

(Phys.org) -- A British company, Guildford-based Naked Energy, has come up with a “hybrid” solar panel that has generated much interest in the past weeks because of its design, function, and test ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Apr 12, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (18) | comments 26 | with audio podcast report

Conical nanocarbon structures could lead to flexible, transparent field emission displays

(PhysOrg.com) -- During the past several years, researchers have used carbon nanotubes and nanofibers to fabricate a variety of transparent, flexible devices, such as OLEDs, transistors, and solar cells. But ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 25, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (14) | comments 4 feature

Solar start-ups set new efficiency records

(PhysOrg.com) -- Although Alta Devices and Semprius make different types of solar panels, both start-ups have been breaking records in the past few days. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Alta Devices announced that ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (17) | comments 12 | with audio podcast report

Photovoltaic panels made from plant material could become a cheap alternative to traditional solar cells

Within a few years, people in remote villages in the developing world may be able to make their own solar panels, at low cost, using otherwise worthless agricultural waste as their raw material.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

In solar cells, tweaking the tiniest of parts yields big jump in efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- By tweaking the smallest of parts, a trio of University at Buffalo engineers is hoping to dramatically increase the amount of sunlight that solar cells convert into electricity.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 27 | with audio podcast

3M shows photovoltaic film for windows

(PhysOrg.com) -- 3M drew press and viewer interest earlier this week at CEATEC with its show of special film that the company has developed to coat ordinary, existing windows and convert them into solar panels. ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Oct 07, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 4 report

Voice-based phone recharging

(PhysOrg.com) -- The noise that we produce can be a lot of things. It can be a valid means of communication. It can be an annoyance when you are trying to get to bed at night. It can be a migraine waiting ...

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created May 10, 2011 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (5) | comments 8 | with audio podcast weblog

Colored solar cells could make display screens more efficient

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new kind of screen pixel doubles as a solar cell and could boost the energy efficiency of cell phones and e-readers. The technology could also potentially be used in larger displays to make ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 07, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Photovoltaic module

A photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. The photovoltaic module, known more commonly as the solar panel, is then used as a component in a larger photovoltaic system to offer electricity for commercial and residential applications.

Because a single photovoltaic module can only produce a certain amount of wattage, installations intended to produce larger electrical power capacity require an installation of several modules or panels and this is known as a photovoltaic array. A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules or panels, an inverter, batteries and interconnection wiring.

Photovoltaic systems are used for either on- or off-grid applications, and for solar panels on spacecraft.

For more information about Photovoltaic module, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.