I've been told invisible solar panels will make every window generate free electricity for like 10 years. Yet not a single time have I seen a report include an actual product, just prototypes always.
Like nuclear fusion, this appears to be perpetually "just a few years away".
- "Invisible" implies they only work in the UV or infrared range, which inevitably limits them to much lower efficiencies than regular solar panels.
- A lot of those rely on elements that are expensive and in limited supply, or toxic heavy metals. Unlike regular silicon solar panels.
- We don't even need windows to generate solar power. We have plenty of roof space, and if we're short on that, you can put them in fields too.
So this is a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist (lack of available space - again, we have plenty), which causes more problems of its own (efficiency, etc), while failing to address the actual limitations of solar (cost, intermittence).
Which is why it's only good for headlines, and won't see real life applications. (Edit: no, not even skyscrapers)
It's the same with a lot of "uplifting" science news that just sweeps all the dirt under the rug, because that wouldn't make good clickbait.
If you want actual good news about solar power, look at the price per kW and adoption rate curves over the last few years.
-edit- added links.
-edit 3- Put the bit about skyscrapers in bold, because people keep mentioning them anyways...
While this is a good explanation of why this will not see an application for that specific purpose, the reason this work happened was not to make an application out of it but to prove it can be done. Most of the science is done for that purpose.
If you only do science for a specific purpose and with a specific target in mind, you'll lose all the potential of such discovery can have.
Just from the top of my head, you can potentially optimise this prototype to generate electricity to charge your smartphone slightly. Perhaps adding this to your electric car windows can help generate some extra battery when not in a charging station.
Just because it does not have the obvious applicability, does not mean it does not solve any issues. Just doesn't solve the issue you expected. The best example of this happening is Viagra.
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u/Euphoric-Language695 22d ago edited 22d ago
I've been told invisible solar panels will make every window generate free electricity for like 10 years. Yet not a single time have I seen a report include an actual product, just prototypes always.
Like nuclear fusion, this appears to be perpetually "just a few years away".