Create a fully transparent solar panels

Researchers at Michigan State University сумели to produce a transparent material , which then converts sunlight into electricity. Compared with the previous semi-transparent materials, this really looks like glass. In the future it will be possible to put in place the glass in the window of an apartment house and receive additional gratuitous energy or converted to screen smartphone / tablet that he recharged yourself.

Of course, the solar panel to generate electricity should capture photons that will generate energy. This means that it can not be completely transparent. Therefore, the previous versions of these materials were полупрозрачными. What's the catch?



The new material technology is used & quot; solar concentrator & quot ;. Contained in it organic salts absorb invisible (ultraviolet and infrared) radiation. Once inside the panel, all the radiation enters the infrared range. This radiation is reflected from the plane of the panel from the inside, it gets to the edge. There he met with narrow strips of ordinary photovoltaic panels, which absorb light, releasing energy.



While the collection efficiency of energy in the test panels is 1%. Scientists believe that this figure can be increased to 5%. Maximum efficiency for opaque solar concentrators is 7%. Of course, it is very small in comparison with modern solar panels, in which the efficiency of production samples reaches 25% , and comes in laboratories and up to 50%. But transparent energy converters can be installed in the house instead of the usual glass. If we imagine a skyscraper in which the entire surface recycles energy, the resulting number will already be quite impressive.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/247370/