Hot Solar Cells
Current solar cells are bulky, expensive and inefficient. Current silicon solar cells only capture violet to red light of the light spectrum to convert into electricity. This means that only 32% of the sunlight can be converted into electricity.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has now developed a new type of solar device that is capable to capture more of the sun's energy. The trick is to convert the light into heat and then convert the heat back to light, but in the usable spectrum of the solar panels. This MIT device is the fist that can capture more energy than the photo-voltaic cell alone, this means that efficiency can thus be increased to figures never reached before.
The current prototype is operating at 6.8%, which is still lower than the 32% of current solar cell, but with some enhancements, it should be capable to reach double the efficiency at 64%. This is a dramatic improvement.
The main success of the device is something called an absorber-emitter!! It essentially acts as a funnel that capture all the light, and most of the light is converted into heat. The emitting layers that surround the absorbing layer now emits he light in a narrow band that is usable by the photo-voltaic cells. The light is filtered, and the unusable light is reflected back creating more heat, thus in a way recycling the unusable light!!
The down side to this technology is the cost and that it currently only works in a vacuum.
Excess heat can be stored to enable this device to also work in the dark for some time - solar cells working in the dark!! - Nice!!
This is new technology, but it seems to be very promising, to supply us with clean, efficient and hopefully cheap solar power.
Image Source
If you would like to read more about this amazing technology, please follow the link, as I have only touched on it without going deeper into the technical side of things.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.
Upvoted done @rynow. Thank for visiting my blog. Happy to be your friend. I d reblog this one.
Thank you very much @taufar
Good article. Not only that the current solar cells are inefficient. They also are hazardous to the environment, since they use cadmium and other dangerous materials.
Thanks for the comment, one must always take care to dispose of them
Can be a really good thing but doesn't seem that the bad guy's always use good things to do there evil deeds.
Thanks for the comment
Stuff of the future! But so is Steemit!
Yes and we are part of it (the future)
Great news
Thanks
Amazing post my dear friend thank you for sharing :) Up&Resteem
Thank you very much @saqib
You are welcome!
That's a very cool idea! So simple at the end of the day. I am looking forward to see it in action :)
Thanks for the reply, yes I would also like to see this technology working
I've helped my family install not one but 2 small solar farms for off grid living and this is seriously some cool shit! I'm all for renewables that get us off the grid and away from the PG&E's of the world. Another tool to add to the arsenal
Dont forget to see if they can claim their free SolarCoin from www.solarcoin.org
I haven't done it yet, but I am also planning to do a section of my house soon, step by step, I will get of the grid.
The solar collectors evolve every year and this technology is very promising especially with the desert. Very interesting your article.
Thank you very much, I love this technology
Hmm, ~doubling the efficiency sounds relly awesome, let's see if they can lower the cost
Yes, currently I cannot afford the solar panels to get off the grid, but I am working on it.
So many new technologies, its always the cost! I may choose these for my space ship, plenty of free vaccum up there.
Then you can have a solar powered space ship - nice
Could be a interesting breakthrough if it commercialized.
Why not add a #power or #solar tag to this?
Thanks @ace108, I will add the tags
You're welcome