• New Nano-Material Could Produce Solar Panels with up to 80% Efficiency
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[IMG]http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/id32757_1-348x196.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]Conventional solar cells based on photovoltaic technology have come a long way in recent years, but they’re still missing a big chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum. The silicon semiconductors in a solar cell are geared toward taking infrared light and converting it directly to electricity. Meanwhile, the visible spectrum is lost as heat and longer wavelengths pass through unexploited. A new nano-material being developed by a group of researchers spread across the country could act as a “thermal emitter,” making solar power significantly more efficient by scooping up more of that wasted energy.[/QUOTE] source: [URL="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/168811-new-nano-material-could-boost-solar-panel-efficiency-as-high-as-80"]http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/168811-new-nano-material-could-boost-solar-panel-efficiency-as-high-as-80[/URL]
I can finally enjoy watching porn 24/7 without $$$ loss :v:
Well, this should make solar power a fair bit more worthwhile now, so long as the Oil Barons don't get their jimmies rustled. It'll take time to perfect, but the value for money of those kinda panels would save a fortune on energy bills.
I would love a legitimate sustainable energy source that I can strap to my house simply from a mechanical aspect. Being able to fully control the energy production of my home just sounds fucking awesome.
I thought ~80% was enough to make the human race sustainable by solar power alone? This could be huge if it follows through.
[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;42555078]I would love a legitimate sustainable energy source that I can strap to my house simply from a mechanical aspect. Being able to fully control the energy production of my home just sounds fucking awesome.[/QUOTE] "Oil companies hate him; find out his secret here!" Also, if this takes off in a big way, it'd be like "Who needs the power company?", at least for individual homes.
The sun's energy contains about 1000 watts per square meter. So 80% efficiency would mean we can produce 800 watts per hour per square meter on a sunny day. Now imagine putting 10 of these things on your roof and you're pretty much set even when it's cloudy outside. For gods sake I really want to see these solar panels reach the consumer market.
[QUOTE=maurits150;42555913]The sun's energy contains about 1000 watts per square meter. So 80% efficiency would mean we can produce 800 watts per hour per square meter on a sunny day. Now imagine putting 10 of these things on your roof and you're pretty much set even when it's cloudy outside. For gods sake I really want to see these solar panels reach the consumer market.[/QUOTE] But what about when your days are only a few hours long and you're never at home when the sun is up?
[quote]The emitter component takes that heat energy and uses it to output infrared light, which silicon semiconductor solar cells are already able to absorb. By doing something with all the other wavelengths of light cascading toward solar panels, researchers have estimated a theoretical 80% efficiency rating — much higher than the mid-30s where most silicon-based solar panels are stuck. However, past experiments with thermal emitters found that the increase in performance in the real world was a mere 8%, which hardly justifies the increased cost and maintenance. This turns out to be due to the extreme temperatures involved. [/quote] Aim for like 40% efficiency.
[QUOTE=lanhacker1488;42556506]But what about when your days are only a few hours long and you're never at home when the sun is up?[/QUOTE] I don't know about the former but for the latter just get a battery.
[QUOTE=ironman17;42555910]"Oil companies hate him; find out his secret here!" Also, if this takes off in a big way, it'd be like "Who needs the power company?", at least for individual homes.[/QUOTE] People who see a cloud from time to time. I would have to be unable to play games and have my fridge to die just because it has been overcast for a week.
[QUOTE=lanhacker1488;42556506]But what about when your days are only a few hours long and you're never at home when the sun is up?[/QUOTE] Link it to capacitors in the basement and use the energy when you're home, I guess. Use the panels for a few "free" hours of energy then tap into the grid for the rest of the night. It'd only be a problem in the winter, whereas in summer you'd probably always be maxed out on capacity; in theory you could even sell some of the daytime surplus to the grid.
[QUOTE=areolop;42556847]Aim for like 40% efficiency.[/QUOTE] Even that is a marked improvement over current tech
Question is, how much would it cost the consumer for this type of solar panel? If they can make it cheap enough, would be awesome. I fully plan on living off the grid at some point. For the winter or a week of cloud.. use the wind.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;42557212]People who see a cloud from time to time. I would have to be unable to play games and have my fridge to die just because it has been overcast for a week.[/QUOTE] Pssst. There is still sunlight when it's cloudy.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;42557212]People who see a cloud from time to time. I would have to be unable to play games and have my fridge to die just because it has been overcast for a week.[/QUOTE] You'd still get power when it was cloudy, and you'd have a reserve storage to act as a buffer.
[QUOTE=lanhacker1488;42556506]But what about when your days are only a few hours long and you're never at home when the sun is up?[/QUOTE] You put the power into batteries
I bet power companies would still stick around at least a little, even if efficient solar panels are used everywhere. Unless we get some crazy awesome batteries, I'm sure people will run out of power sometimes on very cloudy days or at night and want to buy some more.
[QUOTE=SamPerson123;42558889]I bet power companies would still stick around at least a little, even if efficient solar panels are used everywhere. Unless we get some crazy awesome batteries, I'm sure people will run out of power sometimes on very cloudy days or at night and want to buy some more.[/QUOTE] Nanoweb capacitors
[QUOTE=ironman17;42554835]Well, this should make solar power a fair bit more worthwhile now, so long as the Oil Barons don't get their jimmies rustled. It'll take time to perfect, but the value for money of those kinda panels would save a fortune on energy bills.[/QUOTE] I don't think solar panels as they stand now do anything to lower your electric bills. Well I guess they do, but technically they don't because they cost a dickload of money to get. Some up to about $100,000 and it only saves on the electric bill, not cancels out the cost of it completely 80% efficiency might change that, though, if it remains as affordable
science is cool yada yada Let's talk about how it actually works, anybody specialize in this type of stuff?
Imagine how pissed people will be who bought the current gen solar panels for so much to be told about this.
I don't know why everyone is so binary about this. You don't need to live off of solar power. Just buy them for whatever, then use them until you've saved whatever their cost was in electric bills. Then coast on the free money.
[QUOTE=Whiterfire;42559221]science is cool yada yada Let's talk about how it actually works, anybody specialize in this type of stuff?[/QUOTE] Definitions: Heat in atoms is just mechanical motion (aka Phonons), Light is made of Photons. Bandgap refers to different absorption/emission bands of a certain element between different electron/quantum levels (Aka, a Blue LED's light producing materials have a certain bandgap that emits solely one wavelength of blue). These electrons are generally constrained to these particular bands and thus only respond/emit light of these particular wavelengths. Hydrogen for example: [IMG]http://www.daviddarling.info/images/hydrogen_spectrum.gif[/IMG] Commercial solar cells typically only have a bandgap that allows them to capture light of the IR wavelengths to produce electricity, thus alot of received light from the sun is lost as heat to the backplane of the solar cell etc. The tungsten emitters that are in this setup take the heat (phonons) and convert them into photons of the IR band (Traditional radiative heat from our bodies other sources is typically radiated as IR photons). Since alot of this heat is converted back into photons the solar cells can convert, its easily raises the efficiency of solar cells by a long shot (80% is a huge jump from the nominal ~25% you can get on the market). Plus since it involves existing solar cell tech (Just a simple addition of these tungsten emitters), its not going to be as big of a hole in your wallet compared to some more exotic solar cells that are super expensive yet are still not as efficient. :eng101:
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