Highly Transparent Solar Cells For Windows That Generate Electricity

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Forget about sci-fi movies, the technology of the future is already here! Transparent solar cell may seem like a thing futurists or authors only imagine about, but scientists from Michigan State University have come up with a functioning product. Of course, solar cells are not new, but with the transparent function, the applications can multiply by the dozens! For instance, any window or a smartphone’s screen could theoretically be turned into a photovoltaic solar cell, providing with energy every time it faces the Sun. Amazing! Sure, the product is not yet ready for commercial applications, so clients can’t get the fully transparent solar cell to use at an affordable cost. But the academic researchers from the US are confident this will happen pretty soon, and the technology will be available in few years on large scale.

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“These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications,” said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Read more at UCLA, or hit up the research paper DOI: 10.1021/nn3029327 [paywalled]

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A transparent luminescent solar concentrator that selectively harvests NIR photons is demonstrated. On page 606, R. R. Lunt and co-workers describe the photophysical and electronic properties of the luminophores, the impact of ligandhost control, and the optimization of the solar concentrator architectures to realize their potential for use in electronic displays, solar windows, and other glazing systems with high defect tolerances and processability…

21 Responses to “Highly Transparent Solar Cells For Windows That Generate Electricity”

  1. Rudy Magana says:

    can you send me information on your products, i am in the Window and Door Bussines mostly in the Custom Home Market but i also do Comercial Glazing, and i would like to lear about your products

    Thanks

    Rudy

  2. mildrid says:

    Question. Are they moving toward using this as a source of energy instead of solar panels…

  3. ggulas says:

    I can not even get affordable solar panels for my home, are these going to only be for the wealthy?

    • Patricia says:

      A lot of cities are testing solar panels. Google Free solar panels for {input your city} I can but the finances would go to the hydro company and I would rather it go to me. there’s also sites that show you how to make your own solar heating contraptions. We’ve done the make shift ones and they do work, but you have to make a few of them for any difference. I like it for our pool in the summer keeps it warm for the season

  4. Diane says:

    Do you really think that the BIG CORPORATIONS that make billions off of energy are going to allow this to be manufactured for the masses??? GET REAL!

  5. JEFF says:

    Why not make Roofs just out of glass? They actually have glass homes in England 95% glass

  6. Linda romero says:

    Would love to have more information on this

  7. Victor says:

    Forget cell phones, what about the windows in your house? car? This would be amazing!

  8. Audrey Miller says:

    This is amazing, you can put it on windows, doors, or even in your cell phone screen. This is a big improvement in solar industries.

  9. Jules says:

    Imagine a greenhouse made from this stuff? It would allow you to grow crops all year round and generate it’s own electricity to run equipment such as aquaponic systems!

  10. Tanya says:

    There are already roof slates that generate energy – grand designs feature a home using them

  11. Edward C Hass says:

    But likely years away it looks like.

  12. Veronica Whiting says:

    If you need a model home to work on you can use mine. I live in the northeast and could really use these especially in the winter. Thanks

    • Patricia Welch says:

      We moved from a town in northern Michigan that owned it’s own electric company to Maryland. Every winter, we HAVE to go on a diet of salads & potatoes, because our electric bills rise to $500-$600 monthly. Our thermostat never goes higher than 68 degrees. We’re in our 70’s, on SS, Energy costs are literally bankrupting us and the wh Moron Allows this BS. Instead he rambles about how many x’s people Flush toilets.
      Do You know he gives bigger tax abatements to the oil companies than the whole Pentagon Budget?

  13. Nik says:

    I find it very interesting that you just grabbed a random journal article from UCLA about a completely different transparent photovoltaic device structure. These technologies are very interesting and show promise though. -(I currently work on PV devices at a national lab)

  14. Dick Houston says:

    If you are really interested in this technology you might check out SolarWindow Technologies Inc. They have worked this way past the “six inch square”

  15. Launa vigil says:

    I have three sliding doors thirteen windows I wonder if b ever other window would work in some places

  16. Tre says:

    We just bought new up to code windows. And two sliding glass doors. Haven’t put in windows yet how much is this and can it be cut and placed infront of existing windows w vinyl edges. The test of house is not subject to sun.

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