Solar Cells are now Becoming popular here in the Philippines. Such researches from different Universities as UP, Ateneo, LaSalle and now THEIR research focus on cheap / cost-efficient solar cell designs According to the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) [1]. As an enthusiast of solar cells, what exactly is a "solar cell"?

Simple. It simply converts sunlight into electricity. How does it do that? Well I will not talk about the details here, as you can find it on this website:

http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/light-generated-current

Some applications of Solar Cells are (obviously):

Useful Solar phone chargers are. Solar Cells generate small current and high voltage output, so it's typically Useful for charging batteries of cell / smart phones, laptops, and other gadgets.

Now why is it popular here in the Philippines?

The Philippines is, if you do not know, right near the equator, where we receive the most amount of light energy from the sun as compared to most countries. Even if it's cloudy we still get some ultraviolet light penetrating through the clouds. (That's why you can still get a sunburn if you stay outside the whole day on a sunny day). Sunlight is one our Valuable energy resources, that's why the Philippines Should Invest in solar cells!

One important value of solar cells is its efficiency (%) . The efficiency is the maximum power it generates given its surface area (how big is the solar cell) and irradiance from the sun (amount of sunlight it can capture from the sun). The higher the efficiency the better the solar cell.

The silicon solar cells currently stands at 44.7% efficient [2], the world record as of today! But the solar cells you buy in CD-R King are just usually only 10-15% efficient. The Chinese, the geniuses of manufacturing any devices and low price due to THEIR sheer number of workers, cut the price of solar cells to a dollar per watt. Not only that, but the managed to Mass Produce 15% efficient solar cells and lower prices. But they fail to optimize the solar cells. So it's a second-rate and most solar cells. 

That's where all our research comes in!

Hopefully the Philippines would lead the solar business and other non-renewable energy Businesses (such as wind, and geothermal) 

One of my bright ideas are internal waterproof solar cells. Internal waterproof meaning you can place the solar cells in seas or oceans, or if it's raining hard, it will not destroy the solar cells as fast. (Instead of using glass and coating to waterproof it). Another idea of ​​mine is bendable / flexible solar cells! You can bend them so They be placed on umbrellas (sunbrellas - although I these are very fragile). So while someone is walking out in the hot sun (like most UP students) They can generate a bit of electricity.

"The  best  way to  have  a  good idea  is to  have a lot of ideas "

-Linus Pauling