© The Cool Down Solar powered at nightEven if the price of clean solar energy continues to fall, we constantly hear the complaint: "Solar only works when the sun is shining."
But now Stanford University scientists have developed a revolutionary new solar panel that can generate electricity at night.
A study published in April 2022 in the journal Applied Physics Letters found that through a process of "radiative cooling," existing commercial solar panels can be modified to generate electricity even on dark nights.
How does this radiant cooling work? The solar panels emit heat into the space at night, creating a temperature difference between the panels and the air.
By connecting a thermoelectric generator to the panel, this change in temperature can be used to generate electricity. Basically, these panels can generate electricity thanks to the freezing temperatures of space.
Shanhui Fan, the electrical engineer who led the research project, explains how nighttime solar panels are changing conventional wisdom.
"We consider the sun an important source of renewable energy," Fan told the newspaper. “[But] the cold of space is a very important source of renewable energy.”
Although modified solar panels do not produce large amounts of electricity - a fraction of what is produced during the day - the technology still has major applications in the future.
Some examples of such applications could be lighting or electronic loads and sensors.
Currently, solar panels cannot fundamentally change the amount of electricity we produce at night. But Dr. Fan said in his research that future iterations of the design could greatly improve its efficiency and make it more workable.
This groundbreaking research shows just how bright the future of clean energy can be even when the sun isn't there.
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These amazing new solar panels can generate electricity even at night; This is how she first appeared in The Cool Down.
