Moore's Law in the Solar Industry?

For those of you who may be less computer savvy than others, 'Moore's Law' relates to a long term trend in computing hardware; the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit (for roughly the same cost) doubles every two years. While this phenomenon was first predicted in the 1970s, it still holds water some 40 years later. If you think about it, technology keeps getting smaller and more powerful year after year- your cell phone now has more computing power than most 'super computers' decades ago!

This is all well and good for computer nerds, you might think, but what's it got to do with solar panels or solar power in Los Angeles in general? The answer is A LOT.

Like you cost-conscious green energy system owners already know, now is a great time to switch to solar. In the last year alone solar panels have gotten cheaper by nearly 40%, due in part to heavy subsidization from China that's forcing heated competition.

Commercial solar installations are getting cheaper as well, as companies all over the US are figuring out business models that allow them set up systems more cost efficiently. In fact, the United States has seen a 17% drop in installation costs across the board.

Another point to note is that in the last five years, the industry has grown 65%. With the demand up and the solar market showing record gains it only makes sense that if companies can sustain this type of exponential growth then Moore's Law might actually kick in- allowing for an exponential increase in panel efficiency as well!