Solar Panels will be TRANSPARENT in the future!!!

[OR13N]

Reserchers from the Michigan State University have developed a breakthrough in solar panel tech where it is not completely transparent (or almost).

 

The efficiency is at 1% at the moment but the researchers hope to get it to or above 5%. This can make it's way to tens if not hundreds/thousands of everyday applications around the world!

 

Source: https://www.arch2o.com/transparent-solar-panels-will-turn-windows-into-green-energy-collectors/?fbclid=IwAR3lIYfkKyjn-W8dfeVTLw235iPQiNOt7Z1yKjihKQFD0SNA-TB6QtYpc30

Video: 

 

[Amias]

Quote

The technology uses organic molecules which absorb wavelengths of light that are invisible to the human eye, like infrared and ultraviolet light.

Yup this is already DOA.

 

I've worked a lot with electronic organics materials. The sun will absolutely kill these. Organic compounds are not long life. It took ages to develop decent organic light emitting diodes that could last for screens, yet we still have lifetime issues (burn in). That's just by driving visible light. The Sun is a thousand times more damaging. These things would not last.

 

Then you've got the efficiency ... 1% ... normal solar panels are 20-30%.

 

Then you've got to imagine the price? Then the fact glass windows are typically orientated vertically, meaning they're poorly aligned to the sun.

 

Nice science click bait, however in reality this is not viable. Cost, life, efficiency and practicality ... all suck.

 

You're better off planting good, efficient traditional solar panels on your roof. 

 

 

[OR13N]

11 minutes ago, Amias said:

Yup this is already DOA.

 

I've worked a lot with electronic organics materials. The sun will absolutely kill these. Organic compounds are not long life. It took ages to develop decent organic light emitting diodes that could last for screens, yet we still have lifetime issues (burn in). That's just by driving visible light. The Sun is a thousand times more damaging. These things would not last.

 

Then you've got the efficiency ... 1% ... normal solar panels are 20-30%.

 

Then you've got to imagine the price? Then the fact glass windows are typically orientated vertically, meaning they're poorly aligned to the sun.

 

Nice science click bait, however in reality this is not viable. Cost, life, efficiency and practicality ... all suck.

 

You're better off planting good, efficient traditional solar panels on your roof. 

 

 

Fair enough lol I was just excited since I've never imagined something like this!

[Moonzy]

If it's transparent, it means it's not absorbing the visible wavelength, meaning it's not doing it's job as a solar panel?

Sure it can absorb other wavelength but iirc the visible wavelength is almost the highest amount in the solar spectrum.

[JZStudios]

2 hours ago, Amias said:

Then you've got the efficiency ... 1% ... normal solar panels are 20-30%.

I just like that the hope is they'll get it to 5%. I'm still not sold on standard solar at 20-30% which also make things really hot.

[NumLock21]

What's the point of making them transparent, when they're mostly installed on roof tops and people will not seem them anyway. Do people actually go up to their roofs to stared at solar panels?!

[OR13N]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

What's the point of making them transparent, when they're mostly installed on roof tops and people will not seem them anyway. Do people actually go up to their roofs to stared at solar panels?!

Windows, phone screens, and a bunch of other stuff, as stated in the article.

[Yummychickenblue]

2 hours ago, JZStudios said:

I just like that the hope is they'll get it to 5%. I'm still not sold on standard solar at 20-30% which also make things really hot.

 

25 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

What's the point of making them transparent, when they're mostly installed on roof tops and people will not seem them anyway. Do people actually go up to their roofs to stared at solar panels?!

i could see these being installed on the sides of large glass covered skycrapers as windows

[unsorted]

Keep in mind these tech articles are there to advertise the research, gather investors, etc. Essentially advertising. For every real product that gets released, there are many thousands / millions of these article-advertisements.

 

Standard commercially-selling solar panels are under 20 percent efficient in the real-world. 30% (mentioned above) would be a massive jump to existing technology & whoever is making it (at a competitive price) would probably own the market. Also there is a difference between lab cell measurements and how those cells perform in a commercially-selling panel.

[Matttis]

I would be fine with an efficiency of 1 to 5% because a transparent solar panel could be used in a LOT more situations than regular panels.
You could place regular solar panels on roofs and the transparent panels in windows. That low efficiency would then still be better than nothing.

 

But yeah, since they are organic materials it's just no option. When do you replace a window? When it breaks. Which doesn't happen on its own. At least not usually.
So when you tell people that they are gonna have to replace all their windows every like... 5 years or so no one is gonna want to hear about it.

[JZStudios]

7 hours ago, Yummychickenblue said:

i could see these being installed on the sides of large glass covered skycrapers as windows

For the cost it would take to purchase and install these, that pathetic 1-5% only gathering light for ~6hrs tops and the potential lifespan of 5 years, it's complete garbage. Regular solar panels already take a few years to cover their cost before they're actually "profitable." This things will die well before you even begin to recuperate.

 

I don't know what the life span would actually be, but covering your roof in panels in the desert takes about 3-5 years to pay off. These would literally never pay for themselves.

[unsorted]

2 hours ago, Caroline said:

That's enough to make me get away from solar energy.

Don't let that discourage you. I've seen those too.

 

I have been using a solar-battery system for the past several years. You can power a heck of a lot on a smallish system.

[Moonzy]

6 hours ago, Caroline said:

reminds me of a "solar" calculator I had when I was like 7 years old, I used to place it at a window hoping the sunlight would charge it

 

Turns out it was just a brown plastic made to look like a solar panel, and it used 2 small button batteries that cost more than a new calculator

That's enough to make me get away from solar energy.

The solar on my calculator saved me in my math exam when I ran out of battery mid-exam lmao

[OR13N]

9 hours ago, Caroline said:

reminds me of a "solar" calculator I had when I was like 7 years old, I used to place it at a window hoping the sunlight would charge it

 

Turns out it was just a brown plastic made to look like a solar panel, and it used 2 small button batteries that cost more than a new calculator

That's enough to make me get away from solar energy.

Actually I've also had one of these, lasted my dad over 10 years. Mostly because he worked in well-lit offices so it won't use the battery at all for long periods of time!
And after it died I actually got the panel out of the calculator shell and used it for a science experiment in school!

[unsorted]

3 minutes ago, Caroline said:

been thinking of getting something to power up the lights when there's an outage. right now I have an old propane generator, does its job just fine but it's noisy and overheats

I see solar in your future. Lighting is (typically) unchallenging for solar.

 

2 major battery chemistries:

* lead-acid

* lithium iron phosphate

 

For the latter, I have yet to see any better-featured controller product (and more responsive support) than from Dacian Todea ( www.electrodacus.com ). Dacian is a brilliant engineer from Canada. Though this might be overkill for your needs. 

 

For cheapish lead-acid solar charge controllers from China, I have had good experiences with EPEVER (EPSOLAR) products.

 

In any case, good luck in the journey. Solar is one of the best things I did.