Having highlighted the recent innovation that is Solar Tarpaulins, we thought we’d bring you another intriguing angle on the development of this potentially world-shaking technology.

So far we’ve brought you articles about how solar tarps are starting to make appearances in places like exhibitions and shopping centres, where visitors use the power they generate for things like charging phones and tablets or powering their laptops. These are fledging experiments in the practical uses of the technology. In order for the idea to reach its full potential though, it needs to be demonstrated that solar tarps can be made to be both efficient in their energy generating properties and also extremely durable and long lasting.

Of course this would also have to be achievable at the right cost to make the finished product affordable for the end user. If these 2 aims could be achieved for the right end price then the potential truly is world-changing, as the task of supplying people en masse with free energy from the roof of their house becomes as easy as spreading a tarp over your roof.

At the moment most solar roof installations are made from silicon. While the eventual savings to homeowners are substantial, from energy cost savings, tax credits and other government incentives the initial cost can still be out of reach for most people. The price tag for a Tesla solar roof for example can easily top $50,000.

As well as the issue of cost another practicality is the weight and bulk. It’s estimated that as much as 40% of commercial rooftops in the US alone can’t actually support the weight of a suitable amount of solar panelling. However the latest developments in brand new materials like Perovskite Solar Cells (featured in the image above) woven into tarpaulins, could actually start to make the above scenario a reality!