How New Technology Will Make Solar Power More Affordable

For home owners, there has probably never been a better time to know how to make a solar panel. Thanks to a raft of tax credits and solar rebates coupled with the falling costs of the components of a solar system, installing solar power is cheaper today than it has been in years. Whats more, continuing research is exploring new avenues for making solar energy even more affordable.
Here are just a few of the technological developments that will enable people to tap into cost effective solar power.
Plant-based Solar Energy
Researchers at some of the world's leading universities have devised techniques for using plant cells to generate electricity vastly more efficient than current solar technology. But how does this work? Well, the photovoltaic panels isolate the plant proteins that are necessary for photosynthesis, the method through which plants convert the sun's rays into solar energy.
The end goal of such research is to one day build photovoltaic modules that are just as efficient as plants. Remember, photosynthesis captures and uses almost 100% of sunlight the plant's leaves are exposed to. Compare that with a conversion rate of just 40% for the vast majority of solar power units available in the market today.
Replacing silicon with dye
Dye-sensitive solar cells are made from a thin film where a photosensitized dye is used to convert the sun's rays into energy as opposed to the conventional silicon. The technology makes it no longer necessary to use expensive metals. While such solar cells are not necessarily cheap, they do provide significant cost savings. Interestingly, the biggest cost in the process of how to make a solar panel from dye-sensitive cells is the metal-based dyes.
But the metal dyes may not be necessary for long. New research has identified ways of using a resin for the dyes as opposed to metal. If such new technology makes it into the market, it will massively cut the cost of how to make a solar panel. So far, the only drawback has been the lower efficiency of generating power compared to silicon panels.
Replacing silicon with plastic
Dye is not the only thing replacing silicon on photovoltaic cells. Scientists have now identified ways of using lamination to build plastic panels. Plastic is not only cheaper but it is also sturdier and lighter. Lamination has also made it easier to automate the process of producing the panels. The static layers in the plastic panels are more resistant to weather-induced degradation thus allowing the panels to last that much longer.
Replacing silicon with copper and copper oxide - Copper is significantly cheaper than silicon (though far less visually appealing) and the discovery of ways of making solar panels from copper should open opportunity for lower cost solar power. Previously, the use of copper and copper oxide was hampered by its inability to retain doping agents for long - unlike silicon. To circumvent this problem in making solar panels, minute electric fields are used to realize the same results as conventional doping agents.

New Technology Driving a New Philosophy for Service Management Systems

Research shows that Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, which accounted for little more than 6% of the total Enterprise Software market in 2008, will represent more than double that percentage by the end of 2011 - and the growth is likely to remain exponentially impressive. As a result, over the last 4 years these applications have been seen to have a significant impact on the whole service management solution marketplace.
A shift towards hosted solutions has been driven by a number of factors, in particular the flexibility afforded to the user by these types of solutions - given the imperative imposed on businesses to adapt or suffer the consequences in these cost-conscious times. The value of these solutions is most obvious for companies trying to increase the speed of adaptation and transformation of their service operation from simple break/fix into brand-and-people-driven operations, providing customers with high-value knowledge input. The role of the service management solution consequently becomes more than just an efficiency engine supporting productivity, and instead provides real-time, instantaneous data transfer, providing usable information immediately and creating a highly effective operation.
A challenge for many companies is to have their service management system on a single platform; currently systems are rarely fully integrated despite the claims of providers, instead being comprised of a number of systems coming from different sources, and most solution providers currently do not provide a complete solution. This is despite the fact that a single platform provides the basis for total visibility and gives a significant advantage.
For a successful service transformation, as the operation develops, businesses have to deal with significant change, including a complete overhaul of their measurement and process dashboards. Once the measures and processes start to be questioned, the obvious uncertainty is how fast and how radical the changes should be. It would appear that one reason for the phenomenal growth in SaaS is its ability to provide a rapid speed of change, allowing adaption to become significantly faster and cheaper to execute.
Some software providers are now extremely agile and able to assume a new role in the implementation process, supporting the customer with continuous improvement as well as ensuring that the software develops effectively in line with the changing needs of the customer, and no gap is permitted between the latest product and what the customer is using. This shift of role and responsibility has encouraged some suppliers to focus heavily on providing the highest quality of service to their customers during and after implementation, guaranteeing fast results and, most importantly, continuous improvement and support throughout the lifetime of the solution.
If the effective lifetime of the system can be extended, then the benefits are obvious. Many solutions comprise a modular structure - which can be fine as long as they can be fully integrated, but the opportunity for adaption is often more illusory than real. The key to future-proofing is to configure systems to maintain alignment with changing requirements, giving the advantage that the system evolves as the business transforms, therefore training and staff development can continually be worked on - with the benefit of continuous improvement and positive demonstrable outcomes. Future-proofing also means that the disadvantages of upgrades or changes taking time and incurring cost can be avoided as the software remains fully up-to-date, thereby increasing its value to the customer and ultimately the customer's customer. A supplier able to continually align each solution to the customer's own requirements gains control over common problems such as diverse customers operating with different versions, or the customer unable or refusing to upgrade - so the solution accrues greater value.
The philosophy change is there to see, as customers become more demanding of their technology providers and are no longer prepared to "dumb-down" when they come into the work place. Customers are also expecting service management system providers to support them with sustainable solutions which can be utilised over a number of years, without high-cost upgrades or replacements every couple of years - in other words a relatively low life-time cost, commensurate with other technology providers.

Homes and Businesses Utilizing New Technology to Reduce Energy Usage

In today's high energy world, people are constantly searching for ways to reduce energy consumption any way possible. Reducing energy usage is the best way to lower electric bills. In addition, it makes electricity cheaper for everyone if there is an unused surplus.
One example would be the Marine Corps Base in Camp Lejeune, NC holding its second annual Energy Fair at the Marine Exchange this October to demonstrate ways energy can be conserved both commercially and residential.
"The Energy Fair is a way we can increase awareness across the base," said Lt. J.G. Walter Anderson, assistant public works officer. "First off, we want to show them some of the different technologies out there as far as energy conservation. When most people hear it, they think 'turn off your lights,' but there are so many things that can be done. Secondly, we want to show the people some of the projects going on around base."
Booths were set up by vendors at the entrance of the MCX displaying their company's newest ideas to make the World a greener and more energy efficient place.
One common trend among commercial companies is Building energy management system and computerize energy monitoring. Recent research indicates that companies utilizing commercial energy management are up 40 percent from last year. Rising energy costs and environmental awareness is attributed to this change.
One company has developed LED lights with built-in speakers for homes with recessed lighting, and they have also worked to create wireless electronics for everyday household objects.
"Many commercial buildings had these installed for a few years now," said one vendor. "Now it's becoming something people can put in their houses, and it is just another way to not use up unnecessary electricity.
Most of today's energy management systems are comprehensive monitoring and control systems that are part of a full building solution. The monitoring component of these systems allows owners to track energy consumption in real time, make this data available to company financial controllers to produce company budgets, and make necessary adjustments when consumption exceeds demand. The control component of the systems enables building management staff to effectively manage the building, often when building management resources are shrinking.
Today there are technologies available for both in-home and commercial use. Many of these new innovative upgrades are more cost effective than outdated systems. What was once considered commercial energy management has now morphed in to residential energy management. Homes around the world are beginning to install and utilize new technology designed to lower energy usage.