When we think of solar panels, we always think that solar panels can only be useful during hours of sunlight well that is not the case anymore.
A recent research done by Stanford tested this out. They modified an existing solar panel that was bought and by adding a thermometric generator it generated currents from temperature differences. The result was a smidge of electricity that was generated and relied on the ‘frigid vacuum of space’.
The lead researcher for this experiment Shanhui Fan who is also a professor of electrical engineering said that the main reason was to harness the coldness of outer space as it is an extremely important source of renewable energy. Traditional solar panels absorb sunlight thus the name solar panels, whereas these modified solar panel used in this experiment absorbs radiative cooling. The main feature of traditional solar panels is that they have photovoltaic cells which do not work at night and even in cloudy weather whereas these modified solar panels do.
To give a technical background a regular traditional commercial solar panel can produce up to 200 watts per square meter from a single panel whereas the modified panel used in this project here only generated 50 milliwatts; to put it simply a modified solar panel has 0.04% power output of a traditional solar panel, and for reference, one watt is one thousand milliwatts.
Fan also said that since the modifications were made to commercially available solar panels they could be easily and widely used. He also said that the real-life application for these modified solar panels would be for low power density applications.
Realistically the idea of large-scale implementation of these modified solar panels is a far-fetched idea as the power generation even if deployed on large scale will be extremely low. The future of development for this modified solar panel is in the starting stages and for now, there is no need for it to be a commercially viable option.
In my opinion, the future of these solar panels is bright but as it is hindered by many factors but it needs substantial research and development for it to be of practical use in the upcoming future.
REFERENCES
- https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/solar-panels-that-work-at-night-developed-at-stanford/
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2314957-solar-panels-that-work-at-night-produce-enough-power-to-charge-a-phone/
- https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/04/08/reverse-solar-panel-technology-still-works-when-the-sun-goes-down