The future of organic photovoltaic solar cells as a direct power source for consumer electronics

Abstract

As the search for marketable photovoltaic solar cells continues, organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells have been identified as a technology with many attractive features for commercialization. Most photovoltaic technologies on the market today have started their growth path in the consumer electronics market segment. A similar evolution has been envisioned for OPV. This paper hence investigates consumer preferences for solar cells directly powering consumer electronics. Choice experiments were designed and responses were collected using a random sample of 300 individuals from the Flemish region (northern part of Belgium). Results allow computation of attribute importance, willingness to pay (WTP), and simulation of theoretical market share. These measures point towards OPV being able to reach considerable market share in the long run, bearing in mind efforts are first needed in elevating OPV’s efficiency and lifetime as they determine consumer’s preferences most.