  Harnessing the phenomena could greatly improve yields
Comments     Threshold   RE: Wasted effort By foolsgambit11 on
12/18/2009 1:24:46 AM , Rating: 2 Exactly. There are two kinds
of efficiency that need to be addressed in PV cells to increase
their practicality. The point of this line of research is not so
much to increase traditional definition of efficiency (the
percentage of the total available energy captured), but rather
to increase the Watts per unit material.  None the less, total
energy captured is an important metric. If houses in temperate
climates can provide all the electricity they need (aside from
heating, maybe) from solar cells on the roof of their house,
that's a big win.  Storage is an issue as well, though. There
are several pieces of the puzzle that need to be put together
before photovoltaics is ready for prime time.  On my boat, I use
a combination of solar and wind power for all of my electricity
needs - scant though they are. It was great. I can even power a
fridge about 90