Wearable Solar PV: How Much Potential Does It Hold?
A reader asks: I was looking for a contact with a group currently researching and manufacturing photovoltaic thread as described here.
Most of the research is focusing on textiles for the thread. I think they should look in a different, novel, direction.
The surface area of a conifer tree (think christmas tree) gathers a significant amount of light through all seasons and latitudes. A photovoltaic thread that is 3-8 in. long and durable enough to withstand winter icing could be arranged in a natural looking tree formation. The increased surface area would likely be close to or exceed the output of a solar panel of the same land space. The fractal branching support structure would also be a simpler engineering problem for energy transport than the current textile direction.
I would love to speak with someone more on this subject to get some additional thoughts.
Please call anytime; I’m in the office all morning. I’ll be happy to talk about this, and to try to dig up contact info on the people you mention.
Having said this, I’ve never been too enthusiastic about this, nor about any other means of generating extremely small amounts of electricity, as I struggle to think of a practical use for it. The only one I can even imagine is charging one’s cell phone, which means next to nothing here in the U.S., but admittedly is a non-negligible task in the rural parts of the developing world, and perhaps to the military. But phones only hold about 4 watt-hours of electrical energy, and the human body is capable of producing 400 watts. Thus if I hooked my cell phone up to my bicycle or my rowing machine, I could charge it fully in 40 seconds. Bottom line: I’m not sure wearable PV is worth the hassle and expense required to build it.
But who knows? I’ve been known to be wrong about consumer trends before (as in: almost always). In fact, the pic here is a PV bathing suit. Again, who knows? Put another way: If Donald Trump is a credible candidate for President of the U.S., you are an excellent candidate to revolutionize the clothing world with this concept.
Craig,
But Donald Trump is not – in any way – a CREDIBLE candidate for president… and wearable tech is likely fad that will contribute absolutely nothing to the net emissions problem.
Oh, you’re 100% right about the new emissions issue; however, wearable PV can make a difference to those in the rural parts of the developing world who have to spend hours/day walking to the nearest city to charge their cell phones.
Craig,
I certainly know where you’re coming from… but for those rural 3rd world examples, sending a simple fixed-position singe-panel charging station would be far cheaper and far more useful.
The clothing would only be useful for gathering energy when it is:
a. Worn,
b. The person is outside in the sun (not in the shade).
Moreover, the clothing has to be continually WASHED – soaked, stretched, and tumbled…so the clothing would naturally have a far shorter lifespan than a fixed single panel solution.
The LCOE for PV clothing is likely ~1000fold that of a fixed panel installed in a high-sun region. If you’re trying to help the people in the third world charge their batteries, send them easy-to-install solar panels.
🙂
Good points, as always.