There’s a lot to see at the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems in a rehabbed old building in Boston. Fraunhofer is a big German research and development non-profit organization, with a couple of branches in the USA. They have been working with solar power for years, and last year held the record for making the world’s most efficient solar cell. Now they are looking to reinvent the way solar panels are installed.Christian Hoepfner, the director of the center, explains that much of the cost of installing photovoltaics is in the frame they are mounted on, and in the connections, the wiring of it all together. This needs about 26 hours of a qualified electrician and a lot of work by the roofer, and presently totals about $ 4.90 per watt installed.

Source: Coming Soon: Cheap light rooftop solar you can install yourself. : TreeHugger