Make solar energy economical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Make solar energy economical - Essay Example Solar energy technology is faced with engineering challenges however there follow ways of making it more efficient in its production, storage, and use. For example, most of solar cells today that is used for commercial purposes are highly made of silicon that converts electricity from sunlight, with less percentage of efficiency due to high manufacturing costs. Due to use of silicon material the cost of electricity production is three times higher which makes the engineering pauses need for cost-effective cells with low manufacturing costs (Simon, 2007). The current standard cells provide thirty-one percent efficiency due to use of silicon materials. Use of new materials for production by multilayer cells can increase the efficiency. There are also other ways of enhancing the efficiency of solar energy which includes the development of nanotechnology. This is the development of engineering structures which are effective compared to the use of molecules and atoms. This makes them effe ctive because one nanometer is equal to a billionth of one meter. Use of other materials like lead and selenium elements in the making of the cells which make a nanocrystal which is more cost effective and more efficient. With the use of standard cells, there is the production of excess heat when a photon releases an electron to carry the electric charge which makes it ineffective and inefficient enough. On the other hand use of nanocrystals made of selenium and lead elements produces extra electrons instead of heat.