Related Posts
  • Blog Post: A boost-topology battery charger powered from a solar panel

    Now appearing in the January 4th issue of EETimes Technical Paper Highlights.... A solar cell's typical voltage is 0.7 V. Many panels have eight cells in series and are capable of producing 5.6 V at most. This paper identifies key concerns in implementing such a modification and provides a design...
  • Blog Post: New resources on solar power now on ti.com

    Soaring and fluctuating fossil fuel prices have become a reality reflecting our strong dependence on fossil fuels. Furthermore, the forecasted demand in energy is expected to double through 2030 and could outstrip supply, resulting in an anticipated increase in energy prices. This paves the way...
  • Blog Post: TI sponsors University of Illinois Solar Decathlon team

    Texas Instruments is stepping up its involvement with the Solar Decathlon by sponsoring the University of Illinois team for the 2009 competition. As a bit of background, the Solar Decathlon is a DOE-sponsored, bi-annual contest to design, build and operate the most attractive, energy efficient homes...
  • Blog Post: The Museum of the Future

    There are many museums lining the mall in Washington D.C. These museums focus on history. For the past two weeks a museum of the future was placed on the mall as the Solar Decathlon competition took place. It was a village like no other – twenty student designed and built solar homes all striving...
  • Blog Post: The Solar Decathlon Experience at the UIUC

    Once just a glimmer in our eyes, the 2009 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon (SD09) competition is now upon us. In October, twenty university teams from around the world will bring their high-tech houses to the National Mall in Washington DC to show off their skills in super-energy-efficient home design...
  • Blog Post: Oceanic thermal energy conversion – large scale energy harvesting

    With energy usage top of mind, who hasn’t been exposed to commercials stating “the energy produced buy the sun in one minute equals the amount used by the entire population of the planet for one year,” or a similar, hard to define claim. The truth is there’s an incredible amount...
  • Blog Post: 2009 Solar Decathlon

    Texas Instruments and the 2009 Solar Decathlon Texas Instruments has long been committed to driving energy innovation. In October, TI will continue its involvement in building a greener future as a returning sponsor of the 2009 Solar Decathlon. This event brings together 20 university teams from across...
  • Blog Post: Solar energy storage for utility and harvesting applications

    Capturing the energy from the sun and transferring it to electrical or thermal energy can be used to its fullest potential only if it can be stored. On a cloudy or rainy day or at night, energy needs to be provided to the consumer at any given time or on a continual basis. For this, storage technology...
  • Blog Post: Every Day is Earth Day

    In 1970 Senator Gaylord Nelson called for the first Earth Day to be held on April 22nd. The goal was to raise environmental awareness and seek solutions to the environmental degradation that had begun to afflict parts of the planet. Senator Nelson once said “The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary...
  • Blog Post: Band-gap engineering in photovoltaics: a simple yet challenging concept

    Have you ever thought about how a solar cell functions and operates? Its function is quite simple: converting sunlight to electricity. Its operation is quite rudimentary. Solar cell is a semiconductor. The primary characteristic of a semiconductor is the presence of a band-gap . This band-gap has a finite...
  • Blog Post: Solar Week March 9-13

    When people talk of solar power efficiency they are almost always referring to the conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic (PV) panel. The PV conversion efficiency is the ability to turn available sunlight into a DC voltage and current. For most mass produced panels the efficiency number is in the...
  • Blog Post: Creating a resource efficient home

    Almost 15 years ago I designed my own resource efficient home , which is still ahead of its time even today. When we give tours of our home I’m often asked “what would you do differently?” Much has changed in the last 15 years. If I were designing a new resource efficient home right...
  • Blog Post: Investment continues in solar power

    Once again, even during these trying times of money crunch and investment, California continues to be an ambassador of generating power using alternative energies. This time, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric is planning to invest directly towards building and owning solar plants and panels...
  • Blog Post: Organic solar for energy harvesting

    How about wearing a jacket that could power your cell phone? Well, this may soon become a reality and not something just seen in a comic book or in a futuristic movie. Organic solar materials, woven into your jacket, may be the solution. Organic solar, also called thin-film plastics, which has been long...