Photovoltaic spray paint

[Karen M]

Interesting link... they say it's for steel panels but one day maybe we could just spray paint the entire trailer

Photovoltaic spray paint turns steel into solar panels

[2yax2go]

Doncha just love science? Just when you think it can't be done....someone does. This will be interesting to follow the updates.

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Karen M

Interesting link... they say it's for steel panels but one day maybe we could just spray paint the entire trailer

Photovoltaic spray paint turns steel into solar panels

I always question the validity of an article when it claims something that can not possibly be true. To quote the link
" No more need to invest thousands of dollars in not-so efficient solar panels for your RV’s roof, and–get this–no range limit for electric vehicles."

Even if the solar spray paint was 100% efficient (and that would never happen) there is not enough energy in the sunlight that strikes a car or RV to provide "no range limit for electric vehicles". The solar panel would have to be much larger than the car, at least for the type of car most people would typically drive especially while towing. Maybe they are defining unlimited range as charging for several hours, driving a short distance, charging again, driving again, and so on. If that is the definition, existing solar panels can provide unlimited range. A more reasonable definition would be that the solar output is equal to, or greater than, the energy consumed while driving, then you could drive continuously whenever the sun was shining.

While they don't say it in words, they also show the top of a spray paint can in the link, implying that the typical consumer would just spray it on a surface. I would bet that the spray paint would have to be applied in a manufacturing environment because getting the power from the paint to the controller/battery would not be easy due to how thin the paint would be.

The technology does offer the potential to significantly reduce cost and is an interesting development.

Some of the flexible solar panels already available are only 2.5mm thick. 2.5mm is about 10 thousands of an inch or the thickness of 3 sheets of paper and that includes the stainless steel backing that the solar part is attached to.

Sunflex Solar and Alternative/Renewable Energy - About us

[Donna D.]

Innovation and pushing the science envelope has to start somewhere. While I don't think this is ready for primetime, I can see the 25th generation perhaps being successful. Years ago, who would have thought someone looking at a child's pinwheel would imagine taking that "technology" and using it to power homes. It's on a much larger scale, but here in Oregon windfarms are a booming business!