Tubular sunshine

摘要

Solar power should be a cheap and simple way of making electricity, but like any technology the practicalities tend to get in the way. Even if the sun does come out the panels may not face in the right direction. Then there is the cost, which can exceed $40,000 for a household system-more than half of which is accounted for by installation. This week, however, a Californian company launched a new type of solar panel that tries to overcome these problems.rnStandard solar panels are assembled from arrays of photovoltaic cells made from silicon, like computer chips. These cells absorb photons in light and transfer their energy to electrons, which form an electrical circuit.