It is hip and great for the planet to be green these days. Recycling, re-purposing, growing your own food, using sustainable products in your home and of course solar energy are methods to being green. Usable energy like solar energy is a great way to go, but there is a downside: the financial feasibility of solar energy.
Solar energy is harnessed through solar panels made up of a silicon-like material. That’s fine for those solar lights you might put out in walk-way or garden, or even for a calculator. While it’s cost-effective to use that material for small items like that, it gets pricier and pricier to use for our day-day energy needs because enormous panels would be needed.
The Tel-Aviv University’s Department of Physical Electronics and some of their Professors: , and Amir Boag are making headway in trying to convert more energy from the sun. As of now solar panels can only convert around 7% of solar rays into useable electric current. The professors along with the University’s New Renewable Center are developing solar panels that use metal instead of silicon. Silicon is only a semi-conductor, hence the 7% conversion rate. Metal is a much better conductor and by putting the new panels in antennas, a much more cost-effective way to harness power from the sun.
If being green is more affordable, then the greener we can become as a planet. The idea of being able to use much smaller method of harnessing solar energy that has a higher conversion rate is a great start. Who would have known that those-old school antennas would bring us closer to cheaper green energy.
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