Solar Panels That Can Generate Electricity Even At Nighttime Are Finally Here

Engineers at Stanford University have developed solar panels that can continue to generate electricity even at night.

Standard solar panels are able to provide electricity only during the day, but this new technology is able to work as a "continuous renewable power source for both day and nighttime."

A study highlighting the achievement was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.?

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Generating solar energy at nighttime?

How could solar energy be harnessed at nighttime, you wonder? For this purpose, engineers built a device with a thermoelectric generator. This device is able to suck electricity from the tiny difference in temperature between the solar cell and ambient air.

According to the study's authors, this approach could effective provide "nighttime standby lighting and power in off-grid and mini-grid applications, where [solar] cell installations are gaining popularity."

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Also read:?New Solar Panels Extract Water From Air To Grow Spinach In Desert

2021 was a good year for renewable energy. In fact, wind and solar energy beat coal in 2021 to generate 38% of all energy on Earth. For 50 countries, 10% of power came from solar and wind, a think tank reported last month.

With solar panels that can generate electricity at night, scientists hope connectivity can be extended to areas where mini-grid applications are viable. These include towns and hamlets where populations are too small to warrant the extension of a grid.

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Also read:?India Added Record-Breaking 10-Gigawatt Solar Energy Capacity In 2021

What do you think about solar panels that work in the nighttime? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.??

References

April 7, 2022.?Solar panels that can generate electricity at night have been developed at Stanford. NPR.