A new type of solar panel has been developed that can generate electricity at night.
Researchers have created a photovoltaic (PV) cell that can be utilized within the process called radiative cooling so that it can support the generation of renewable energy for 24 hours.
It works by tapping on the heat radiated from the surface of the solar cells as infrared light into outer space on clear nights.
By incorporating a thermoelectric generator into a conventional PV solar panel, the scientists achieved the generation of the energy by 50 mW/m2 in the nighttime.
Functioning like a conventional solar panel during the day to consume the energy of the sun, the panel then “runs in reverse” to keep generating electricity at night. However, any clouds at night can hinder the system by reflecting the infrared radiation back to Earth.
The team of engineers who built the system has mentioned that they used inexpensive and common materials to create the setup; this simply means that it could be incorporated into existing solar cells and used in remote locations where limited resources are used.
The study named ‘Nighttime electric power generation at a density of 50mW/m2 via radiative cooling of a photovoltaic cell’ was released in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
The researchers have positive hope for facilitating a reliable and clean source of energy for the roughly 750 million people around the world who currently live without electricity.
Solar Panels That Generate Power At Night
Over the globe, solar energy has been considered one of the most sustainable forms of energy. More and more individuals are being attracted to solar energy as a favored mode of energy for powering and fulfilling their energy-related specifications. However, there is a common doubt amongst individuals regarding whether solar panels generate electricity at night.
The solar panels are operated under the sun, so the question arises do the houses remain in the dark during the night when there is no sun or do they save power for the night? Well, practically, solar panels do not generate power at night as the photovoltaic (PV) cells placed in solar panels should hold access to sunlight to generate electricity.