March 27, 2008

Paint on solar power

Many people would like to have solar panels on the roof of their house, but in reality the cost of installing this type of product is just too expensive for everyone to afford. In fact the capital outlay takes such a long time to be recouped, that there are questions as to whether the whole eco thing is worth it or not.

But researchers at Swansea University have been working a on solar cell product that is simply painted onto steel and this would be enough to gather up any low level solar radiation, so the painted steel would not even have to be in direct sun light at all, which opens up many possibilities for solar power to be introduced into a building.

Imagine a building where the steel cladding has been painted with these solar cells, this would mean that the entire building could be producing solar power, and the applications would not stop there. This product could be used in areas where power is hard to obtain or where there has been a natural disaster etc.

Source [Inhabitat]