Photographs: in Boston Yoshita Singh
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on a new system through which the entire surface area of a building's windows could be used to generate electricity, without interfering with the ability to see through them.
The key technology is a photo-voltaic cell based on organic molecules, which harnesses the energy of infrared light while allowing visible light to pass through.
When windows turn into power plants!
Image: Vladimir Bulovic.
When windows turn into power plants!
Image: Innovation to generate power from sunlight."It is attractive, because it can be added to things already being deployed," rather than requiring land and infrastructure for a whole new system.
Using the window surfaces of existing buildings could provide much more surface area for solar power than traditional solar panels, Bulovic said.
When windows turn into power plants!
Image: Light-harvesting.
When windows turn into power plants!
Image: MIT.The technology can be put to use in new buildings or where windows are being replaced.
Adding the transparent solar cell material to the glass would be a relatively small incremental cost, since the cost of the glass, frames and installation would all be the same with or without the solar component, the researchers said.
With modern double-pane windows, the photo-voltaic material could be coated on one of the inner surfaces, where it would be completely protected from weather or window washing.
When windows turn into power plants!
Image: Solution to power woes.The researchers expect that after further development in the lab followed by work on manufacturability, the technology could become a practical commercial product within a decade.
In addition to being suitable for coating directly on glass in the manufacture of new windows, the material might also be coated onto flexible material that could then be rolled onto existing windows, Lunt said.
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