Image: zhengzaishanchu / Adobe
Solar power is a promising avenue for clean energy. Unfortunately,
solar panels have one major weakness – they can’t generate electricity
in the dark. However, this weakness could soon change as scientists at
Stanford University have now created a solar panel that works in the
dark.
The researchers published their findings on the new type of solar
panel in the journal Applied
Physics Letters back in April of 2022. While they discovered
a way to make solar panels work in the dark, they also discovered that
already erected solar panels could be modified to generate power at
night, too, saving businesses and homes from having to upgrade to new
panels.
The process used to make older solar panels work in the dark is called
radiative cooling. When the sun sets, the Earth cools down, releasing
heat into the air. This helps to create a temperature difference
between the air and the surface of the panels. Then, researchers say
that we can install thermoelectric generators onto the panels,
allowing us to harness the power generated by radiative cooling.
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Image source: myphotobank.com.au / Adobe
This isn’t the first time we have seen this idea put forward. Back in
2020, researchers with the University of California did something
similar with what they called an “anti-solar
panel.” Photovoltaic solar panels already take advantage of this
radiative cooling to generate electricity after the sun sets, allowing
those solar panels to work in the dark.
So why haven’t we heard more about this if it makes solar panels
generate electricity even after the sun sets? Well, that’s because it
doesn’t generate tons of electricity. Instead, some estimate it only
generates around 25 percent of the energy a solar panel can generate
in a typical day. But that’s still clean energy that you didn’t have
before, so it’s worth harnessing while you can.
Other advancements in solar power have also seen solar
panels that don’t need sunlight to generate electricity. You can
read more about those in our previous report, but they essentially
work by using the same rays of ultraviolet light that fruits and
vegetables rely on to create their energy.
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