GoldenGadgets Blog and Guides

I just found this article in slashdot about a new solar cell technology made to increase efficiency and bring down costs. The technology was developed at MIT to redirect sunlight and concentrate it to increase efficiency. The process includes dyeing the glass that will then redirect and focus the sun light to solar cells at the edges thus using less solar cells and still capturing all the sunlight. As I read through the article, the benefits to this form of solar concentration versus the “lets spin mirrors around to chase the sun” method is that it does not require mechanical mirrors chasing the sun and the main solar cell does not need to be cooled. This application could mean solar windows that will redirect light to the edges and create electricity for your home.

The link to the articles is here:http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html

I also read a lot of the comments on slashdot regarding this article and the general sentiment is that none of this technology and said efficiency and cost saving will actually make it to the consumer. One of the best comments on slashdot was…”we solved the global climate crisis at least 4 times this last week”…which is hilarious but at the same time disturbing because for every “new” technology i read about that is suppose to be so dramatically life changing such as this solar cell technology…it never seems to trickle down to benefit the consumer. Solar Powered products continue to be excessively over priced because of the availability of solar cells. I have not encountered a single price drop in solar technology as an importer and distributor of solar products and I do not forsee the change. The scientists in this article claim to bring this technology into the market in 3 years but the real question is when will i be able to walk into a Home Depot/ Walmart or even GoldenGadgets.com and simply order a solar concentrating window that easily installs and then also easily hook it up to my grid without paying an additional 5000 dollars for an efficient inverter. better yet…how about having these windows in say a new Hybrid that will further assist battery charging…..the point is…new technology is wonderful…but its even better when we can actually get our hands on it and use it everyday.