PV Gap

Eugene Said:

what do we use solar cells for?

We Answered:

Solar cells are most useful when you either have lots of sunshine, or when the device being powered can't be connected to an electrical outlet.

Solar cells on calculators are common. They don't need a lot of power because they just have a tiny liquid crystal screen, so a solar cell can really extend the life of a battery.

You may see emergency phones by the side of the highway that have solar cells mounted on the top of them. This provides enough power to charge the phone, which isn't used very often, but also means that no one has to spend the money to run a power line out to connect it. So an isolated device or appliance that can't be connected to the power grid cheaply is a good application.

Solar cels are often used in homes to heat water instead of using a gas-powered water heater. This saves energy resources (natural gas) and takes advantage of the sunshine hitting the roof of a house.

There are contests to race solar powered cars held in the Australian desert each year, but these are designed to encourage development of the technology rather than to make practical cars that we could all drive.