Econews

Solar panels that are not only solar

A few days ago, we published on a system capable of obtaining drinking water from the air, without electricity grid and using solar panels as an element to collect the energy needed to operate.

Today we tell you about solar panels that can work at night, without sunlight, so they should no longer be called "solar panels".

Those responsible for this ingenious invention are a group of researchers from Stanford, where they showed in a publication on the website of AIP Publishing, a non-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and explained how they managed to modify ordinary commercial panels capable of producing electricity at night.

Conventional solar panels typically use ultraviolet radiation to generate power, the new non-solar panels use cold and obtain energy through "radiation cooling".

Adding technology to conventional solar panels so that they take advantage of the low temperature that usually occurs at night, and thus generate power. A modified panel can produce up to 50 milliwatts per square meter of clear sky, although much less than conventional solar panels, but enough to power devices such as night lighting.

During the day, the thermoelectric generator will continue to provide power in addition to the electrical energy generated directly by the photovoltaic cells. "Our system can be used as a continuous renewable energy source both day and night in off-grid locations" they stated for the portal.

In the report they clarify that the research process is ongoing but is advancing rapidly to make it a commercial product in the very short term.

It could be a solution for those areas where there is no access to the electricity grid.

 

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy in conjunction with Stanford University's Strategic Energy Alliance program. For more information, please visit https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0085205

31 de Mayo, 2022