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To gain a better understanding of the new photovoltaic shingles used on the Yonkers shed, Bob visited Global Solar, in Tucson, Arizona, where energy efficiency and environmental concern go hand in hand.
Neil Holstead, the founder of Global Solar, produces photo voltaic material in a plant that is as innovative in energy efficiency as the product produced there. The award winning building has many sound ecological aspects to it, most notably the skylight design with mirrors to reflect extra light and take excess heat out of the building. To water the plants outside, all the grey water is recycled. Waste from the nearby electrical plant called ply ash is added to the concrete walls for added strength and rammed earth (compacted dirt) is used for some of the outside walls. The spotless facility has the outside flair of traditional Arizona, while inside the photo voltaic material is produced in a high tech atmosphere.
The traditional photo voltaic panels that one would see 30 years ago on a satellite were quite large, rectangular and rigid, could be quite expensive, and weighed in around 20 lbs. They were made of a melted down silica material that went through several processes and became thin cells that were more fragile than a soda cracker. These cells were then wedged between large panes of glass and encased in a rigid metal frame. When the sunlight hit these panes, electrons would fire to produce electricity.
Today photo voltaic material is produced in 1000 foot rolls that are so durable they have passed the speeding bullet test and have even been run over by a tank with minimal performance degradation. The manufacturing process starts with a carrier plastic, or substrate, that is 2000 Polymeric film and each layer is just 1/20th of the substrate.
There are four layers of elements required to make the photo voltaic rolls. These layers of elements are adhered to the substrate or carrier plastic by a process called sputtering. The four elements are molybdenum, copper indium gallium diselenide, cadmium sulfide, and indium tin oxide.
Each layer has a specific function. Molybdenum is the first layer condensed onto the substrate and is the positive electrode to the battery. The precursor molybdenum has a negative electrical potential added to the plate, Argon gas is added, it collides with the target, and is condensed onto the substrate.
The machinery used in the process was developed by Global Solar engineers and built on site by an outside machine shop. The chamber resembles the inside of a camera with several rollers, and in a continuous process the layer is adhered to the substrate. Each element layer has its own chamber and is transferred to the next machine when complete. The machines can cost up a half a million dollars. The technology for solar heating has made tremendous advances over the years making energy efficiency more affordable and thus more attractive to the consumer.
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© 2001 BobVila.com
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