[jamesHrussell (OP)]

also i'm wondering if i could use it in a new/unusual way, i mean collecting the energy using a solar cell that is completely made out of liquid and can flow easily. is that possible? and if so (even if it doesn't create much energy, i don't need the energy to do much. either way i welcome experts in solar energy, and just anyone who has experience with it in general. any ideas to making a solar cell that is completely transparent is also encouraged.. (or at least looks clear, even if its not)

[CliffordK]

Liquid?

What about a solar hot water heater?  I.E.  collect heat, rather than making electricity.

As far as transparent.  Water is transparent, but it wouldn't be particularly efficient to say fill a double-paned glass with water.  Both Ethylene and Propylene glycol are also colorless.


I have seen solar cells with many little holes, enough that it would let in about 10% or 20% of the normal light, and you can more or less see through them.

There have been notes about transparent solar cells bouncing around the internet for some time.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10235480-54.html

However, I don't think they've made it to the market yet.

If you look at the Boeing/Emcore triple Junction Solar cells.

They are made up of multiple layers.
http://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/cells/PV%20XTJ%20Cell%205-20-10.pdf

Each layer essentially absorbs light with a very specific wavelength, and lets the other light pass through.

Technically, you could choose layers that are invisible to the human eye (ultraviolet and infrared).  Or, perhaps choose specific colors of absorption such as green if you wanted to make a semi-transparent panel.

When reading about the solar cells, there are types of transparent contacts, but probably not as effective as metal contacts.

The Sanyo Bifacial Solar panel has opaque solar cells, but are embedded in a transparent backing.  Thus, the cells are visible from both sides (as businesses often like to display the panels from all angles).
http://us.sanyo.com/HIT-Power-Double/HIT-Double-Bifacial-Photovoltaic-Module

Perhaps other brands also use a transparent backing and opaque cells too.

[CliffordK]

Ok, here is a semi-transparent solar panel that I think you can actually buy.
http://greenerenergy.ca/Products_Available/GreenerEnergy_BIPV_Solar_Transparent_Solar_Building_Material.pdf
http://greenerenergy.ca/Products_Available.html

The notes say "thin film", but I'm not seeing good closeups.  They look somewhat like what I had seen earlier with the small holes, but perhaps not with the same number of separate cells.

[CZARCAR]

http://builditsolar.com/