LONDON — Keep working on improving on photovoltaic and solar cell efficiency if you want the best energy-saving return on R&D

That is the primary finding of a poll of EE Times Europe readers conducted during the month of August.

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An alternative is to invest in sensor and control networks to reduce energy consumption in major plants and infrastructure, an option which ran PV research a close second. The solar route grabbed 24 percent of respondents’ votes while enhanced control garnered 21 percent.

A number of other activities scored well. In descending order: developing energy harvesting technologies scored 13 percent; improving the efficiency of batteries received 12 percent; improving the efficiency of power supplies got 11 percent; improving the efficiency of lighting was thought a bright idea by 10 percent; and taking steps to lower the power consumption of ICs brought up the rear with 9 percent of vote.