Researchers are back with another incredible technology,
a fully transparent solar concentrator which has the capability of turning any
window or sheet of glass into a photovoltaic solar cell. This new transparent
solar cell could be used as a window, which was once thought to be impossible,
because traditional solar panels absorb light and turn it into energy, but a
transparent surface is not typically able to absorb light. Also vision is not
compromised.
Just think, you could keep your phone charged whenever
you are outdoors or in the sun. The incoming solar energy of tall buildings can
also be harvested using this. Researchers at Michigan State University have
developed a new type of solar concentrator which uses transparent, uncoloured
plastic that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing
people to actually see through the window. According to lead researcher Richard
Lunt, the team is confident that these transparent solar connectors can be
efficiently used in numerous settings from “tall buildings with lots of windows
or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone
or e-reader.”
Researchers opted for a different system called a
transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC), which contains organic salts
that absorb specific non-visible wavelengths of sunlight, ultraviolet and
infrared light, which they then glow as another wavelength of infrared light
(also non-visible). This emitted light is then guided towards traditional
photovoltaic solar cells which are able to trap the energy and convert it into
electricity. Since the absorbed wavelengths are not visible for us, the
material looks transparent.
The most important feature is that harvesting the light
for power can be layered on top of a clear piece of glass without completely
weakening the sunlight’s ability to pass through it. The perimeter of the cell
contains small photovoltaic strips, which means it is basically a miniaturized
version of a solar panel. These react with infrared light, which is invisible
to the naked eye and produces solar electricity.
Solar concentrators are different from solar panels
because they trap light and then direct it outward to the edge of the conductor
where the solar cells, which generate energy, are located. They are more
efficient and cost-effective than solar panels, which lose a lot of energy to
heat and require expensive devices to direct as much sunlight as possible
toward them.
The efficiency is currently low 1%, but researchers are
confident that they can reach at least 5% in the near future. You may be
thinking these figures are so small, but multiply that by every window in a
house, or car and you can begin to see that this could be very beneficial,
particularly for skyscrapers and office buildings where virtually every wall is
just windows.
The new technology would lead to energy efficient systems
as the newly developed transparent luminescent solar concentrator can be used
on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface. Their
technology is an invisible film that can go on any surface and generate power,
which could lead to cell phones, and tablets that never run out of batteries or
skyscrapers that can use their massive banks of windows as solar panels.
Research in the production of energy from solar cells
placed around luminescent plastic-like materials is not new. These past
efforts, however, have yielded poor results. The energy production was
inefficient and the materials were highly coloured.
One of the benefits of this new development is its
flexibility. It is a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used
on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface. While
the technology is at an early stage, it has the potential to be scaled to commercial
or industrial applications with an affordable cost.
A transparent solar panel is something like an oxymoron.
I.e. Solar cells, mainly the photovoltaic kind, make energy by absorbing
photons (sunlight) and converting them into electrons (electricity). Then if a
material is transparent by definition it means that all of the light passes
through the medium to strike the back of your eye. This is why previous
transparent solar cells have actually only been partially transparent obscuring the view.
The researchers are
confident that the technology can be used all the way from large industrial and
commercial applications being affordable. So far, one of the
larger barriers to large-scale adoption of solar power is the intrusive nature of solar panels. If we can produce large amounts of solar
power from sheets of glass and plastic that look like normal sheets of glass
and plastic, then that would be big.
This inspiring innovation could greatly expand the
reach of solar power. In fact energy from the sun itself is virtually
free! All you need is the solar connector and you are good to go. This also
means that buildings of the future are covered in the energy-producing panels.
Anyways renewable energy is our future and its scope is very exciting…..
Please give your suggestion and follow as if you are interested.....
Please give your suggestion and follow as if you are interested.....
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