Small Scale Solar Cell Applications?

Question

I am considering making a small solar cell product for a project that will produce a small amount of electricity to power some sort of electrical every day device. It will only work for small applicatoins (less that 2 square inches) and it won't produce enough power to power something large (like a toaster). Are there any small scale applications for solar cells that I would be able to make a prototype out of?

(some examples of my thinking include a cell phone charger, keychain, earphones possibly? -things related to the lives of teens/consumer products)

any ideas are welcome, i need some inspiration

Answer 1

2 square inches of solar cells do not produce much power. So practical applications would either be devices that use very little power (solar powered calculators) or charge batteries for later use (Lamps used to light the edges of paths at night, they are pretty cheap & widely available in case you want to salvage the solar cells and batteries from one of them for your project).



You can buy solar charged flashlights and cell phone chargers, but I don't think they are all that practical unless you don't have grid power.



There are quite a few people who make little solar power gadgets. Try googling "beam robotics"



See links for lots of pictures!

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

It depends on whom you ask. My opinion is yes, but it has drawbacks. Doesn't work at night or in bad/cloudy weather Currently expensive and requires replacement every 10-15 years I think in the future these problems will be easily overcome, but it will take 10-15 years. Possible solutions to the first problem are long distance transmission lines so that while it's cloudy in one place, it won't be in another and the power is just shipped in. This may even entail a global sized power grid. Also existing generating infrastructure is probably sufficient for nighttime use when demand is lower. As for the expensive/replacement aspect, the technology is increasing exponentially with the price/performance ratio falling. This is a bit different than when this was first tried in the 70's when material science was not understood as well as it currently is. Another benefit of solar is the ability to decentralize some of the demand. If people could put solar panels on their rooftops, then a fraction of the power would be generated at home.

Answer 4

Using the Sun to power your home can help reduce your electricity bills and your carbon footprint. Giving you access to a renewable and clean source of energy. Solar panels generate pure D.C. electricity when exposed to sunlight. This is exactly what your batteries want. By saturating your batteries with these electrons in a slow and steady manner on a daily basis, you prevent your batteries from repetitive deep discharges which will shorten the lifespan of lead-acid batteries. In fact, a properly designed solar battery charging system can easily double the useful life of your lead-acid batteries!

Answer 5

1