Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • New Research Explains How Solar Panels Could Soon Be Generating Power at Night
New Research Explains How Solar Panels Could Soon Be Generating Power at Night
Thursday, February 6, 2020 IST
New Research Explains How Solar Panels Could Soon Be Generating Power at Night

As beneficial as current solar panel technology has been in our quest to switch to renewable energy, such panels can't generate electricity at night. Now, new research suggests it could be possible to design panels that can operate around the clock.

 
 

Under optimum conditions, at night these specially designed photovoltaic cells could generate a quarter of the energy they produce during the day, according to the new study.
 
To achieve this, we'd need to incorporate thermoradiative cells - devices that generate energy thanks to radiative cooling, where infrared or heat radiation leaves the cell and produces a small amount of energy in the process.
 
Thermoradiative cells are already being tested in fields such as manufacturing, where they are used to convert waste heat, such as the high temperatures generated by an engine.
 
In the case of a night-time solar panel, pointing such a cell at the cold night sky is a way to harness this process.
 
 
"We were thinking, what if we took one of these devices and put it in a warm area and pointed it at the sky," says electrical and computer engineer Jeremy Munday, from the University of California, Davis.
 
To achieve this effect with infrared radiation, we'd require different kinds of materials to regular solar panels, which tend to focus on visible light (though researchers have also experimented with cells that can capture both).
 
The next step is to figure out what mix of materials and electronics might produce an effective panel that can use the night sky and space as a heat sink. The underlying maths, however, checks out.
 
"A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow," says Munday. "In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power."
 
"You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same."
 
Solar farms could produce up to 50 watts of power per square metre (around 10 square feet) under ideal conditions, according to the researchers' calculations – boosting energy production by about 12 percent overall in open, arid environments where a lot of solar farms are already based.

 
 

It's an idea that several groups are looking into. Last year we saw an experimental system, set up by researchers from Stanford University, which also used the heat imbalance between the night-time sky and the Earth to generate electricity from infrared radiation.
 
While there's a long way to go to properly scale up this technology so that it's practically useful – right now Munday and his colleagues only have prototypes in development – this is potentially a relatively cheap and inexpensive way to keep solar cells operating 24 hours a day.
 
"Deep space offers an intriguing low-temperature thermal sink that has the potential to help provide electrical power at night and day through the clever use of photonics, optics, and materials science," conclude the researchers in their published paper.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
Florida Man Catches Oldest Grouper Fish On Record. Here's How Old It Was

Jason Boyll, an amateur fisherman, caught the 160 kilograms grouper.

Recently posted. 791 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
Sexual Harassment In The Sky: Hong Kong Flight Attendants Fight Back

While they say carriers have made some steps in the right direction, they argue airlines still lag far behind in the #MeToo era.

Recently posted. 679 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
Google Introduces New Bitcoin Keyboard Currency Symbol

In what some view as a landmark move, Google developers have added the bitcoin currency symbol to the iOS keyboard. The move, by a company so successful it’...

Recently posted. 874 views . 1 min read
 

 Reviews
The Best 5 Camping Tents in India 2018 – Reviews & Buying Guide



Recently posted . 1K views . 99 min read
 

 Article
10 mistakes that rich and successful people never make, according to these self-made millionaires

Learning from the mistakes of others can make a big difference in helping you to achieve greatness and wealth in life.

Recently posted. 823 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
71 Interesting Facts About Pakistan

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the 6th most populous country in the world. It has an area of 796,095 sq...

Recently posted. 1K views . 4 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

“Smile and let everyone know that today you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday.”
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top