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See-Through Solar Could Turn Windows, Phones Into Power Sources
August 5, 2015
See-Through Solar Could Turn Windows, Phones Into Power Sources
By Marianne Lavelle, for National Geographic
PUBLISHED AUGUST 05, 2015
Anyone who has sweltered in a south-facing office during the summer knows the power of solar energy streaming through a window.
In fact, no reputable urban architect today would design such a workspace without treated windows to reduce the sun's glare and heat.
But what if the window coating could do better than keep out the sun? What if that thin film could capture the solar energy for lighting the office, running the computers, and best of all, firing up the air conditioning?
That's the idea behind "transparent" solar, a technology that startup companies hope to bring to market soon, after at least two decades of U.S. government-backed and university research.
With the help of organic chemistry, transparent solar pioneers have set out to tackle one of solar energy's greatest frustrations. Although the sun has by far the largest potential of any energy resource available to civilization, our ability to harness that power is limited. Photovoltaic panels mounted on rooftops are at best 20 percent efficient at turning sunlight to electricity.
Research has boosted solar panel efficiency over time. But some scientists argue that to truly take advantage of the sun's power, we also need to expand the amount of real estate that can be outfitted with solar, by making cells that are nearly or entirely see-through.
Read more at National Geographic.
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