No matter how sustainable, environmentally friendly and clean energy they are, traditional solar panels require a large installation area and a large initial investment. Due to these restrictions, it is difficult to introduce them into urban areas (especially communities with a large number of apartment buildings or shops). But due to the work of the ingenious engineers at the University of Michigan, this situation may soon cease to be the case.

Researchers have created transparent solar panels that they claim can be used as windows for generating electricity in our homes, buildings, and even rental apartments.

If these transparent panels can indeed generate electricity in a cost-effective manner, then as we speak, the era of conventional windows may be passing. Soon, no matter where we live, we can use cheap solar energy-in order to make it better, we can get rid of the terrible power outages that happen every once in a while, because of the transparent glass-like solar cells Every house and every tall skyscraper will be able to generate electricity independently.

In order to use sunlight to generate electricity, solar cells embedded in solar panels are required to absorb the radiation from the sun. Therefore, they cannot let sunlight pass through them completely (just like glass windows). So at first, the idea of ​​transparent solar panels may seem absurd and completely illogical, because transparent panels should not be able to absorb radiation. 

But the researchers found that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, this is not the case.

The solar panels manufactured by engineers at the University of Michigan consist of a transparent luminous solar concentrator (TLSC). The TLSC composed of cyanine can selectively absorb invisible solar radiation, including infrared and ultraviolet, and let the rest of the visible light pass through them. In other words, these devices are transparent to the human eye (much like windows), but still absorb a small portion of sunlight, which can then be converted into electricity. This is a relatively new technology, first developed only in 2013, but some impressive developments have been made.

Panels equipped with TLSC can be molded into the form of transparent sheets, which can be further used to make windows, smartphone screens, car roofs, etc. Unlike traditional panels, transparent solar panels do not use silica gel; instead, they consist of a zinc oxide layer covered with a carbon-based IC-SAM layer and a fullerene layer. The IC-SAM and fullerene layer can not only improve the efficiency of the panel, but also prevent damage to the radiation absorption area of ​​the solar cell.

Surprisingly, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) also claim that their transparent solar panels can be used for 30 years and are more durable than most ordinary solar panels. Basically, you can install these transparent solar cells on the windows and easily get free electricity for decades. Unsurprisingly, this prospect has excited many people.

According to Professor Richard Lunt (head of the transparent solar cell experiment at Michigan State University), "highly transparent solar cells represent the future trend of new solar applications." He further added that in the future, these devices can provide power generation potential similar to rooftop solar systems. In addition, they can also equip our buildings, cars and gadgets with self-charging capabilities.

"This is where we are working," he said. "Traditional solar applications have been actively researched for more than 50 years, but our research on these highly transparent solar cells has only been about five years. Ultimately, this technology provides a promising way to reach large and small surfaces that were previously inaccessible. It is cheap and widely used in solar energy."

In addition to the research work carried out by Professor Richard Lunt and his team at Michigan State University, there are other research groups and companies dedicated to the development of advanced solar glass windows. Earlier this year, a team from Russia’s ITMO University developed a cheaper method of producing transparent solar cells. Researchers have found a way to produce transparent solar panels at a much lower cost than ever before.

"Ordinary thin-film solar cells have an opaque metal back contact, which allows them to capture more light. Transparent solar cells use light-transmitting back electrodes. In this case, some photons will inevitably be lost when passing through, thus Decrease the performance of the device. In addition, it can be very expensive to produce a back electrode with suitable characteristics," said Pavel Voroshilov, a researcher at ITMO University’s School of Physics and Engineering.

"In our experiment, we used a small molecule-based solar cell and connected nanotubes to it. Next, we used ion gates to dope the nanotubes. We also processed the transport layer, which is responsible for making the active The charge of the layer successfully reached the electrode. We were able to do this without a vacuum chamber and working under ambient conditions. All we had to do was to drop some ionic liquid and apply a slight voltage to produce the necessary characteristics," he said. Author Pavel Voroshilov added.

PHYSEE, a technology company from the Netherlands, has successfully installed a solar-based "PowerWindow" in the 300-square-foot area of ​​the ABN AMRO Bank building. Although the current efficiency of transparent PowerWindows is not enough to meet the energy needs of the entire building, PHYSEE claims that as long as they work harder, they will soon be able to improve the feasibility and power generation capacity of solar windows.   

California-based Ubiquitous Energy is also developing the "ClearView Power" system, which aims to create a solar coating that can turn glass used in windows into transparent solar panels. This solar coating will enable transparent glass windows to absorb high-energy infrared radiation, and the company claims that the use of ClearView solar cells in initial tests achieved an efficiency of 9.8%.

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In September 2021, the Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) Corporation factory in Chiba City became the first building in Japan to be equipped with solar windows. The transparent solar panels installed by NSG in its facilities were developed by Ubiquitous Energy. Recently, as part of a collaboration with Morgan Creek Ventures, Ubiquitous Energy also installed transparent solar windows on Boulder Commons II, a commercial building under construction in Colorado.

All these exciting developments show that sooner or later we can also install transparent power-generating solar windows in our homes. Globally, such a small change in the way we produce energy may be a big step towards a more energy-efficient world.

If this sounds too good to be true, then it is. The efficiency of these fully transparent solar panels is about 1%, although the technology may reach efficiencies of about 10%-in contrast, the efficiency of traditional solar panels is only 15% (some high-efficiency solar panels can Reach 22% or even a little higher).

Therefore, the efficiency that makes transparent solar cells highly efficient has not yet been achieved, but it may be achieved in the near future. In addition, the appeal of the system is that it can be deployed on a small scale and used in areas where conventional solar panels cannot be used. They don't have to replace the conventional solar panels, they only need to supplement them.

Think about it, about ten years ago, solar energy was not considered competitive-a recent report found that it is now the cheapest form of electricity in human history. Although transparent solar cells have not really been applied, we have seen how fast this technology is developing and has a broad prospect.

The idea that we will soon be able to power buildings through windows shows how far we have come. An energy revolution is here, and we should take it seriously.

Rupendra Brahambhatt is an experienced journalist and film producer who has covered cultural, scientific and entertainment news for the past five years. With a background in zoology and communication, he has been actively cooperating with some of the most innovative media organizations in different regions of the world.

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© 2007-2019 ZME Science-Not exactly rocket science. all rights reserved.