Solar power

[redpoint5]

I expect graphene to solve all of my problems, including the ones I didn't know I had.

[Piotrsko]

Just buying a roll of graphene prepreg will solve over half of your social issues.

[freebeard]

I expect graphene to solve all of my problems, including the ones I didn't know I had.

Well, at least it was on topic.

[redpoint5]

I'm pessimistic with solar / battery "news" until I'm not. I was super excited about graphene like 15 years ago, and so far all I've got out of it is extremely expensive supercapacitors.

[oil pan 4]

Graphite is a conductor, not a great one.
The thin film cells produced so far only have a 15 to 20 year life expectancy with a linear output decline to 0 over that time. Thin film farms built in 2008 are already nearing the end of their life or have already been upgraded to mono.
Mono appears to be at least 20 to 25 year and may last 30 to 50.

[redpoint5]

I don't know the advantages / disadvantages of mono vs poly silicon solar cells...

Silfab Solar further warranties that from year 2 through 30 degradation will not exceed 0.50% of Pmax per year for mono crystalline and 0.70% of Pmax per year for multi-crystalline, so that at the end of the 30th year, every Product will have a power output that is: (a) in the case of
mono-crystalline modules, at least 82.6% of the Pmax; and (b) in the case of multi-crystalline modules, 79.5% of
Pmax.

So my panels are expected to perform at minimum 82.6% at the end of 30 years. Seems to me the useful life might be something like 60 years or more based on that. I'd think corrosion or something affecting the frame would end their useful life before the cells wore out.

...still, if thin film could replace my roof, be affordable, and last 20 years, that would be perfectly fine.

[freebeard]

Graphite is not graphene.

duckduckgo.com/?q=graphene%20electrical%20conductor%20insulator

It's the 'magic angle' layered materials that can be an insulator or a superconductor.

Magnetic graphene, or iron trithiohypophosphate (FePS3), is from a family of materials known as van der Waals materials, and was first synthesised in the 1960s. In the past decade however, researchers have started looking at FePS3 with fresh eyes. Similar to graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon, FePS3 can be exfoliated into ultra-thin layers. Unlike graphene however, FePS3 is magnetic.

phys.org/news/2019-02-magnetic-graphene-insulator-conductor

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I don't know the advantages / disadvantages of mono vs poly silicon solar cells...

I don't either, but I know what they have in common --

https://spectrum.ieee.org › efficiency-of-solar-cells-continues-to-climb
Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells Climbs - IEEE Spectrum
Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells Climbs Japanese materials company prototypes a 26.3 percent efficient silicon cell, steps away from the 29 percent theoretical maximum John Boyd

If you free you mind and can handle terahertz waves on a nanometer scale, 100% is the new goal. I don't see that this was posted in April:

1511 The Rectenna - A Different Way Of Making A DIY Solar Cell

[redpoint5]

Mine are 20% efficient. 26% is impressive, but how much more costly is that to manufacture? Cost grows exponentially as theoretical limits are approached.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by myself

A product is offered but the promotion looks a little sketchy

https://www.freevolt.us/

This company existed from 2016 in Poland. They use graphene as an upper layer over silicon. They must have the cost per square foot under control, for a 10-40% gain.

Why Graphene is not being used in solar panels? How this will change