Solar Energy From Textile

TextileToday we are quite familiar with the alternative source of power, such as solar energy, which you can come across while considering buying solar powered camping equipment or solar house systems for your household.

However, engineering development doesn’t stay in one place, and today solar powered gadgets or solar powered garden lights are not novelties.

Portuguese researchers at the Center for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials has worked hard during last years, but all their efforts didn’t come in vain. On 14th of February it was announced that first, fully functioning and effectively working solar textile was produced. Therefore now the high-tech future which can be fully powered with renewable energy and with the streets filled by solar powered vehicles is no longer a vague idea, but a considerable goal, which can be attained with the help of scientists’ motivation and people’s innovative ideas.

The technology that was created by Portuguese researchers at the Center for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials is called Dephotex, a special photovoltaic textile which has the characteristics one can readily expect from this type of material: flexibility, light, durability and resistance.

The beauty and exclusiveness of this technology lies in the fact that these flexible photovoltaic cells and panels can be embedded in almost everything, starting from fabrics to ending even with plastics.  Portuguese researchers at the Center for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials have also been testing panels in vehicles, such as cars, so that the car’s internal battery can be fully charged with solar power after when the vehicle was left for an entire day under the direct sun-light.

Therefore now a joke, when while walking, your jeans can charge your mobile phone, is not just a funny story, but a reality, which will for sure develop further. The future in which curtains in your kitchen can power your electric stove or lights and fans is closer than we think, because new materials and devices are now produced to make it all a reality. The first step was taken by Portuguese researchers, who produced a solar textile for cushions, which help power your TV and lamps. Now it is just a matter of time to see what else can be developed from the ideas for more sustainable and friendly for the environment and our wallets way of living.




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