I wil be building a new home later this year and would love to make use of solar technology! I wish there were more residential options so I could incorporate solar now.

It's a fascinating bit of info but it lacks context. In the future consider including some info on how photovoltaics compare to solar thermal in terms of efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity. It would also be nice to know the cost per kilowatt. Bonus points for comparing it to fossil fuels, nuclear, and wind. :-)

I love how solar panels for houses cost well over $30k. Currently they would take decades to pay for themselves. Hopefully this new technology has a better price to performance ratio.

Sorry... solar will NEVER work for large scale energy applications. Every single KW of solar needs to be backed-up by a conventional power source (coal / nuclear / gas etc.) for when a cloud passes over the panels.

Nuclear is the only green solution to our energy mess.

I have seen solar technology succeed in facilities located off the beaten path. While it may not be as effective for mass consumption in urban environments, it can be a bargain if you wish build a facility off of the beaten path. I.E. $solar cell < $extend the electrical grid. Every bit of advancement of the technology expands the viable possibilities by increasing financial pressure to use this tech. People are too hung up on the eco perspective when it is the practical one that really counts.

23.2%, I didn't know solar cells had reached such a high efficiency. I wonder how much it costs now to put a solar cell array on your house to power all appliances during daylight. $30,000? $20,000? $10,000?

I've being using 3 solar lanterns for over 1 year to substitute my table light and to save world. ;)

RockHop, you need to read on the German solar initiative. It is working, and working very nicely. Sure, other forms of energy are needed at times, but solar energy will cut down on that need heavily, which only is a good thing. How else could it be?

Nuclear is NOT green. Not at all. How do you supposed to dispose of the waste? And how about the energy needed to make it work, which comes from fossil fuels.

Get a clue, K?

1.3 % is a rediculous, insignificant amount,
Unless they can produce the upgrade for cheap.
Also want to add that the 40% eff. in some other appl. is only a very few applications - say Nasa satellite, or ISS.
Nuclear, yes, it is the way of the Gods, with hydrogen refineries next to them.
But what ever happened to GEOTHERMAL POWER?
Hmm, lets see, energy out of nothing!!!!???
Impossible! Well stick to coal. Santas been good to us this year. Well sorry folks, but the north pole is almost out of coal, let alone ice.
So I propose geothermal for new world order.
It is almost infinite in abundance, and can technically be used anywhere in the world (over land) and is cheaper to build plants than nuclear.
Yes Nuclear is much more productive, but has a cost as shipping electricity diminishes over powerlines, to its destination. Whereas 1 geothermal plant can supply enough energy to support the city of san francisco, as it does today. So you just have to build a geo plant every 50 - 100 miles or less. Problem solved.
(Much much Cheaper)

50-100 miles, where it is necessary (populated areas)

Nuclear ...
Well I would say that the amonut of waste for the lifetime (30-40years) of a nucleaur power plant would fill an average shiping container, maybe two... get a grip did you ever saw an coal minig opearation and the impact to the environment ....

there are many new solar metods that dont even use silicon but a certain protien from Bactria . Formed in paper thin sheets absording all spectrums of light unlike silicon. As far as night and clouds ever heard of compasitors batteries. Not to mention wind power that works any dircetion unlike current wind power. There was a nice 3 part SERPS on science channel about this. Sad fact oil companies run America . Cold fusion in the end would be the answer . With the money wasted on this pointless war I am sure R&d of this could of yeilded a working modle. There are so many answers in alternate energy. Just need to find the most effecinet modle. The would not only help world but our economy as well. Think every thing is using petro in the plants to make the product to the ships, trians , and trucks transporting it. In the end oil dictates the price of everything.

Not to mention the fact that there is more to solar energy than the visible light spectrum. Some recent technology break throughs are pointing to the possability of converting wavelengths even into the infra red spectrum. Cloudy forecast? Who cares...

What I'd like to see is the incorporation of solar cells into roof tiles (replacing ceramic tiles or asphalt shingles, etc...) So when your roof needs to be replaced in 20, 30, 50 years - you can gain solar power conversion and protection from the weather in a single swift movement. Hey, maybe even the roof will make you money instead of cost so much. It's a dream, but if they can build Lego bricks that snap together, why not solar tiles for the roof?

that the model is to accomodate everone.
Well No, it isn't.
The true model is to create panic with overpopulation and over use of the power grids.
Watch the idiots kill themselves over food.
Then use 1/10 of the power on the 1/5 of the people still alive.
Why else haven't they implemented cleaner energy for everyone. Well I guess i finally figured out what my money to the IRS goes to: Nothing
Long Live Chinese Coal!!!

I've no idea how much waste a facility produces, but it's interesting you bring up coal mining as a counter point - have you stopped to consider where uranium comes from? It doesn't appear in nice rods from the nuke fairy... it's strip mined from wherever it can be found! Puts coal mining to shame.

Not that I'm against nuke power, just don't put one in my backyard!! (or town)

per KWh than coal, now its 1.995 times as expensive.

It will never work.

Narg:
Waste doesn't have to be an issue holding back nuclear fission
power. Generation 4 reactors burn up nearly all the
fuel so that the remaining waste that is left isn't
active as the old power plants we have now. Gen 4 and 3
reactors are still under research but there doesn't seem
to be anything insurmountable. An added benefit is that
some of these designs run hot enough to convert
water to hydrogen pretty efficiently via the sulfur-iodine
cycle. This comes in handy
during light power demand times, the reactor can then
divert lots of reactor power from electricity generation
to making hydrogen which would be stored for distribution later.
Mark

I use home made solar flashlights. They work well in the daytime, however, I can't seem to get them to work at night. I am thinking about using an artificial light source to power them at night.

My big concern is my new solar powered calculator. I wonder how much it increases the current draw on my lights? I guess I could take it outside to do math. I am somewhat concerned that use of solar power could make the sun burn out faster.

I like the comment about solar thermal above. Check out esolar.com for an application of this

I think solar(all variations) is only one component of the supply of our power needs. There are other forms of power generation such as wind, wave, geothermal, hydroelectric and others that can by themselves only contribute only a small percentage but combined can supply the majority of power. The hydrocarbons are finite whether we like it or not and will be exhausted eventually. Nuclear is cheap but not clean. where will the waste go? (launch it into the sun?)
We are talking about the future here. We need to push past short term quick fixes and find lasting solutions. Will it be cheap? No. The thing is we as a planet spend a billions of dollars on crap anyway and build devices to destroy each other instead of building a legacy for the future.
Solar can work. It just needs more refining and deployment in uninhabitable areas such as deserts and then conveyed to the grids.
Lastly, we WASTE energy. We use power hungry bulbs, inefficient appliances and use power we don't even need. Cut the fat and become more efficient and the spare capacity on the grids will increase.
We don't need excessive cheap energy so we can waste it.

" I am somewhat concerned that use of solar power could make the sun burn out faster."
Priceless comment man.
I wanted to state the truth about nuclear big heads and their excessive research on the negative impacts on anything but nuclear.
But then again, they have been researching for many many years since the long island scare, and have almost perfected their art in nuclear efficiency/saftey, (and media propoganda) so as to await for Approval by the Energy Commission to begin building. And maybe they deserve the cut. This savior tiger must be fed well in return, however, with our tax paying laborings.
I will still say that geo-thermal plants will anyday beat solar. The only waste involved could possibly be lubricating the turbines with a barrel of oil once a week, or something.
Oh, and I really do appreciate the comment on how and where they mine uranium, as I hadn't thought about that aspect. Thank You