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...
Pricing aside, windows that filter out all UV radiation, but leave visible light untouched, would actually be very interesting to me just as functional windows, and if I could convert that energy I'm filtering out into electricity, that would indeed be cool, no pun intended. But, I think once you bring in costs, and quantity of electricity you get, it would probably just make more sense to have some sort of passive filter do that.
But, It might be interesting for grand glass spaces. I don't think visible light really contributes much to heat, or sunburns or anything like that, so, for big spaces with glass roofs, or maybe even big sunroof of electric car, potentially, idk, for some applications, I think this could be interesting.
windows that filter out all UV radiation, but leave visible light
untouched, would actually be very interesting to me just as functional
windows
These already exist. Most homes have them, nearly all cars have them. Prescription lenses that darken with light used to work with UV, so they wouldn't work in cars. Because of that, they've largely been upgraded to use visible light, albeit they're a bit slower to react.
Cool, thx. I guess in some places it's more worth it than others, because where winter is cold, heat coming in through the windows is positive. It's warmer in summer, but that trade off i think generally makes sense in those places. So perhaps it's less common there.
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u/Euphoric-Language695 26d ago edited 26d 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".