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Free Polymer Solar Cell from Plasticphotovoltaics.org $0.00

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Free Polymer Solar Cell from Plasticphotovoltaics.org $0.00
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lukeloop on 09/06/2014 - 23:24 plasticphotovoltaics.org (3071 clicks)
Last edited 10/06/2014 - 00:00

Get your free polymer solar cell. I am sure we can come up with some ingenious uses. I am going to use it to charge my eneloops while I wear my DNA t-shirt.My 100th post.

Plenty of information here

http://plasticphotovoltaics.org/free-opv.html

freeOPV v1.0.02
The current version of freeOPV is the second in the series and it is different from the first in the series in that the contacts are now based on low cost graphite which should also give a more reliable contact upon flexing. The barrier material is of a very low cost and this is expected to affect the stability while of course being less costly by a factor of approximately ten. This does of course come at an expense and the quality of the barrier foil makes it more challenging to process the solar cells due to some inclusions of air in the multilaminate. The current barrier foil also does not have a UV filter which is likely to pose problems during longterm exposure outdoor. In addition the carbon based freeOPV in its current form does not support exposure to liquid water.
We look forward to having your feedback and hopefully we will learn something from this experiment. The next version will address challenges encountered with this version.

Electrical & Electronics Photovoltaic Cell

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closed Comments

  • silent1 on 09/06/2014 - 23:29

    I wonder if it can act as a charger for those Eneloops.

    Just string a few of these together and you have free electricity.

    • aoeueoa on 10/06/2014 - 00:26

      Specs that it puts out 4v for the 8 stripe one. That's too high for an Eneloop but it's likely it'll put out much less than 4v.

      • retiredfeline on 10/06/2014 - 00:34
        +2

        4V is the open circuit voltage. As you draw current towards the short circuit current the voltage will drop towards zero.

        • aoeueoa on 10/06/2014 - 00:41

          Oh ok. So what would be the typical current @ 1.5v for something like this ?

        • [Deactivated] on 10/06/2014 - 00:49
          +3

          i would suggest not trying to charge batteries with diy solar panels.. unless you want to burn your house down then go for it.

        • retiredfeline on 10/06/2014 - 01:04
          +2

          You would need to look at the current-voltage curve. Maybe it's published, or maybe you need to do some experiments to graph it. Remember that these are research prototypes, not commercial products so the performance will vary from sample to sample. They are trialing manufacturing techniques for mass production of OPVs so they send out the results to schools, individuals, etc. to trigger ideas for applications.

          The sample is basically a piece of plastic that is posted as a postcard.

        • onlyletters on 10/06/2014 - 08:39

          Test it with a multimeter, all panels are different and I dont think you'll find much info on the net about this panel.

      • frewer on 10/06/2014 - 10:13
        +1

        Just to give you more infor, this is froom FAQ section:

        What are the parameters of the freeOPV module?
        We cannot guarantee any fixed parameters, but we try to ship freeOPV modules with an efficiency of at least 1 %. The open circuit voltage depends on the design but a rule of thumb is that 8 stripes deliver roughly 4 Volts, 16 stripes roughly 8 Volts. The short circuit current depends again on the current design, cell area and light intensity. Do not expect “magic” – organic solar cells are a field of ongoing research and we want to show you what is possible, how it looks, how it feels.

  • retiredfeline on 09/06/2014 - 23:31
    +1

    Please be patient with delivery as they are probably flooded with applications from the associated MOOC that is currently being held on Organic Solar Cells. The MOOC is only in its second week so if you are keen you could consider enrolling.

    BTW if you are expecting comparable current to amorphous silicon cells, you may be disappointed. Efficiencies are low with OPVs (something like 3% vs 15%) but so is manufacturing cost so they could be deployed in large areas to compensate. See http://plasticphotovoltaics.org/lc/lc-solarcells/lc-introduc…

  • cpho on 09/06/2014 - 23:36
    +33

    Guys, don't all milk the cow if youre lactose intolerant.
    If you don't know how to use it or what to use this for, don't randomly get one just because it's free.
    It's a great find but I'm going to pass because it's worth more in the hands of someone who will put it to good use.

    • muncan on 09/06/2014 - 23:37
      +4

      D'oh - too late
      I assume I can just plug this baby into a power outlet and receive a feed-in tariff? Yes? Sweet! :-P

      • NosDan on 10/06/2014 - 00:31
        +20

        I assume I can just plug this baby into a power outlet and receive a feed-in tariff? Yes? Sweet! :-P

        im an expert, and im fairly certain thats exactly how it works. ive used 1000 fake email accounts to sign up at 1000 different postal addresses and will hook them all into my home power sockets, via bunings $2 4-way power boards and let you know how much money i make in the first week.

        cheers
        BroDan

        • [Deactivated] on 10/06/2014 - 01:49
          -6

          This sounds like fake humour.

        • NosDan on 10/06/2014 - 02:14
          +5

          hitandrun Member Since 20/05/2014
          This sounds like fake humour.

          you must be new around here…. huh?

        • [Deactivated] on 10/06/2014 - 03:11
          -7

          But not new to comedy.

          I'm just saying you need to work on your material.

          Location Adelaide

          Oh, I see the problem.

        • RockyRaccoon on 10/06/2014 - 08:15

          1000 fake email accounts to sign up at 1000 different postal addresses and will hook them all into my home power sockets, via bunings $2 4-way power boards and let you know how much money i make in the first week.

          Thats a SHOCKING thing to do!!!!!

    • lejayjay on 09/06/2014 - 23:38

      That's not in the spirit of OzBargain..

      • justcallmeboss on 10/06/2014 - 00:29
        +8

        That's not in the spirit of OzBargain..

        Actually it is.

    • mrgeckoz on 10/06/2014 - 00:55

      we should put this in the thread.

    • retiredfeline on 11/06/2014 - 05:24

      Just for everybody's interest the announcement below was sent out to MOOC students. Looks like some people have killed the golden goose.

      If some of you have tried to order a freeOPV within the last hours you will have seen that we have temporarily taken the order form down. The reason for the temporary halt is that we, within the last two days, have received thousands of orders coming from people collecting free stuff from the internet. We will do anything we can to make sure that everybody with a genuine interest will gets a freeOPV, but we cannot just send them to anybody collecting pencils, stickers and other free stuff online.

      • muncan on 11/06/2014 - 09:04
        +1

        Maybe nosdan really did order 1000 at 1000 postal addresses…..

        Hey, where are the free pencils and stickers?
        My Pizza Hut pencil collection has run out :-(

        • retiredfeline on 11/06/2014 - 09:09

          Free pencils? Ikea, of course. :)

  • Utopian on 10/06/2014 - 00:34
    +1

    Will this charge my prius?

    • lplau on 10/06/2014 - 08:23

      Just order 1000 of these and line your prius roof with them. It will work perfectly.

      • bernsy on 10/06/2014 - 09:20

        its a prius not a bus ! so you wont be able to fit 1000 of these on your roof, wakakaka

  • boost on 10/06/2014 - 00:53
    +7

    Hi all this is my 34th post. Thanks.

  • Michaelz101 on 10/06/2014 - 07:31
    +1

    Where's my DNA T-shirt?

    • WaterMark on 10/06/2014 - 08:09
      +1

      I was just about to ask the same question… anyone here got it?

      • Boodek on 10/06/2014 - 10:35

        Still waiting for mine.

  • tyler.durden on 10/06/2014 - 12:41

    what other stuff u need to use this?

    • lukeloop on 10/06/2014 - 12:48
      +2

      a light source

      • tyler.durden on 10/06/2014 - 13:13

        wow I didn't know that…

        you are a genius..

      • tyler.durden on 10/06/2014 - 13:15

        I mean besides the light source…

        How you connect it the devices to charge it…
        do u need some converter device etc.

        And what kind of devices/projects can I buy to use this..

        • lukeloop on 10/06/2014 - 15:51
          +1

          sorry mate, i was just kidding around, seriously I haven't had the time to look into it yet,

  • Popo on 10/06/2014 - 14:15
    +1

    I tried to download the technical paper… wasted my time signing up to Wiley Library Online because to view the paper, I need to pay $45USD for 24hr access.
    As per the website, there's a free Coursera course. I'll wait till it arrives before I bother.

  • Feeblely on 10/06/2014 - 14:30
    +1

    for people wanting the iv curve

    http://imgur.com/k42E0Rf

  • Super_Dre on 12/06/2014 - 18:54
    +1

    So who else got their order cancelled?
    safe to say this was ozbargained.

    "Dear customer

    We are sorry to write to you that we have had to cancel your order of a
    freeOPV sample. The reason for this was that we have had a problem with
    a misuse of our system with thousands of orders seemingly coming from
    the same people.

    We do apologize for the inconvenience this may cause for you, but we
    could see no other option than to delete all orders from the affected
    time period. We have also had to make a protection system to protect us
    from this misuse of the service again. Therefore, we have decided to
    limit orders to the participants of our Coursera course “Organic Solar
    Cells – Theory and Practice” until mid July. The course is a free online
    course on organic and polymer solar cells. Information on the course can
    be found on http://plasticphotovoltaics.org/coursera. If you would like
    to reorder a freeOPV sample you will have to find the link provided
    inside the Coursera course. If you are not a part of the Coursera course
    already, you are more than welcome to join it.

    Thank you for your understanding."

    • muncan on 12/06/2014 - 19:06
      +1

      MosDef the work of BroDan's cousin, NosDan :-P
      (thankfully I received no such email)

    • Dr Techno on 13/06/2014 - 00:12

      Yep I received the same email.

      They put up the following on their Coursera site. Apparently we like to collect free stuff :) pencils, stickers :) eneloop batteries I wish!

      "If some of you have tried to order a freeOPV within the last hours you will have seen that we have temporarily taken the order form down. The reason for the temporary halt is that we, within the last two days, have received thousands of orders coming from people collecting free stuff from the internet. We will do anything we can to make sure that everybody with a genuine interest will gets a freeOPV, but we cannot just send them to anybody collecting pencils, stickers and other free stuff online. "

      • retiredfeline on 13/06/2014 - 10:01

        But they didn't call you professionals. :P

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