According to the Missouri University of Science and Technology’s website, solar energy of the future may be more efficient thanks to Dr Jonathan Kimball, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Dr Kimball says, “The conventional method of connecting solar panels is in a series, one after the other but just as one bad bulb in a string of Christmas lights can black out the entire set, so can a single solar panel disrupt the flow of electrical current through the other panels in a series.”  “Kimball goes on to suggest that rather than connecting solar panels in a series where the electrical current must flow from one panel to get to the next  to use parallel wiring for the panels.  The parallel approach would connect each solar panel to its own power converter instead of sending the electrical current through a series of panels to a single converter, as stated in the Missouri University of Science and Technology website.”

The article from the Missouri University of Science and Technology goes on to state that “cost is still a major factor preventing many people from investing in solar technology.  “Eventually, solar power has got to become cheap enough to compete with electricity generated from other sources”, Kimball says.