As solar power has matured as a technology, companies have
started applying it to more than just houses. Acting as an
energy platform for our transport was an obvious application.
Solar: Will It Ever Power Our Vehicles
As an active
technology, one of the first uses for solar power was on NASA
spacecraft. Although not used for propelling the crafts,
interested parties immediately started thinking about using
solar power for getting us around in our daily lives. Alas,
there were so many problems with the technology, including
efficiency issues, that the idea never really gained much
footing. With the massive popularity of hybrid vehicles,
companies and research institutes are revisiting the idea.
Vehicles getting all of their energy from the sun are not a
viable option at this time or for the near future. The problem
is you simply can’t produce enough energy to meet the power
needs. Until technology is developed to make the sunlight
conversion process much more efficient, there really is not an
answer to the problem. This technological advance, however, may
not be far away.
Quantum dots are a form of
nanotechnology that is being developed by numerous companies for
solar power applications. This technology essentially tries to
create tiny solar robots to convert the sunlight to energy.
Millions fit within small areas and the hope is the efficiency
conversion rate will go through the roof. The companies are
looking to create a platform where the robots would exist in
paint. Yep, the paint on your home and car may eventually
produce all the energy needed.
In the meantime, solar
power applications are being developed with a focus on hybrids.
The basic idea is to use solar power to provide energy to the
batteries powering the hybrid cars. Put another way, it is a
step towards the ultimate goal. Honda does not discuss its
research, but is believed to have built a facility solely for
this purpose and is dumping money into it hand over foot.
The creation of viable solar vehicles is dependent on the
advances of the underlying technology. Solar hybrids should be
on the market relatively quickly. The big breakthrough, however,
will be when viable commercial applications are developed using
nanotechnology.
About the Author:
Rick Chapo is with
http://www.solarcompanies.com – a directory of solar energy
companies. Visit
http://www.solarcompanies.com/articles to read more solar
power articles.
