Slashdot.org pointed me to this article on an attempt to create solar powered curtains, working with a fabric-like thin-film photovoltaic material.
Interesting idea, and nice to see people thinking differently about solutions to energy needs.
The developer talks about using photovoltaics to turn light into electricity, then LEDs to turn electricity into light for the home (after storing it in a battery.) There's something cirularly ironic about that.
I keep wondering how efficient we can get in making those conversions. The best source of light is the sun itself, and we lose a huge percentage of the energy when we convert it with PV technology. But the higher the efficiency of the conversion, the more interesting the possibilities become.
A Wickipedia article talks about a University of Delaware team that achieved 42.8% efficiency a year ago.
RenewableEngergyWorld.com has an article about thin-film cells from DOE reaching 19.9% efficiency.
I had a conversation with Dr. B.J. Stanbery from Heliovolt yesterday, who speculated about a future with plug-in hybrids or electric cars with roofs covered with PV cells.
Still, I'll bet there will be a lot of issues with durability as we think up such ideas. The best commentary on the solar curtains was made by slashdot when it categorized the item: "from the don't-let-the-cat-climb-them dept."