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Use windows that double as solar panels

July 15th 2008 00:31
Solar windows
It seems like an obvious idea, but it's a difficult thing to produce: a window that acts as a solar panel.

Instead of using semiconductors in the window to form solar cells, blocking the light, researchers from MIT have designed an organic film layer that absorbs certain wavelengths of light, then re-emits them at a different wavelength, which are then collected at the edge of the window.


It makes a lot of sense in a country like Australia, where there's 300 days of sunshine, and air-conditioning takes a lot of energy... this method of collecting solar energy at the window allows some of this sunlight to be siphoned off, allowing enough natural light to illuminate the interior.

Good ideas! Can this be commercialized? Certainly there's a market for it in Australia, where there's significant pressure for businesses to go green.

"Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston said that the “solar concentrator” is made from a film of organic molecules that can be coated on to glass window panes or other surfaces exposed to sunlight. This allows light to pass straight through the window even though it is being used to generate power. "

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4 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Louie

July 15th 2008 00:37
Yes Cib, this idea is AESOME, there is a company we invest in called First Solar, they can convert a pne of Glass into a Solar panel in a matter of hours. There is also another company in Germany that makes roof tiles that are Solar Panels...give it a few years and even our sneakers will be mini solar panels to power our ipods or phones on the go.

Comment by Market Newbie

July 15th 2008 02:51
Great post!

I just hope they don't price their invention too high for it to become another wasted technology.

Comment by Cibbuano

July 15th 2008 03:52
Louie, this advance takes the idea further... Instead of putting solar panels in the windows, they use an organic dye to redirect solar power to panels on the edges. A great idea! It still lets light through, too.

Market, inevitably it'll be priced high, but good manufacturing will lower costs, as always...

Comment by Louie

July 15th 2008 04:15
WOW.... that is good.. but yes, it all comes down to price

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