People often use solar panels to absorb clean energy (solar energy), but it also has some limitations. In the environment with sufficient sunlight and direct sunlight, solar panels have the best absorption effect, while rainy weather will limit their energy efficiency. At present, when night falls and there is no direct or indirect light, it cannot continue to work.
Researchers from the school of photovoltaic and renewable energy engineering at the University of New South Wales Sydney and the University Research Center jointly set up a research team. They have made key breakthroughs in infrared technology. The new technology will be able to develop solar panels that work at night.
“Abandon” the limitations of the sun and make an appearance with solar cells at night!
The researchers successfully tested a thermal radiation diode device, which can convert infrared heat into electrical energy. The researchers said that this thermal radiation diode technology is similar to that used in night vision goggles.
Nicholas Ekins daukes, chief researcher of the research center, said in a news interview that at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, people found that the efficiency of the steam engine depended on the temperature difference of the whole engine, and thermodynamics was born. The same principle applies to solar energy. The sun can provide a heat source. The relatively cool solar panels on the earth’s surface act as cold absorbers, which can generate electricity.
However, if infrared radiation is emitted from the earth to outer space, the earth is a relatively warm celestial body, and space is extremely cold. According to the same thermodynamic principle, it can also use temperature difference to generate electricity and emit infrared light into space.
At present, compared with the energy efficiency of solar panels, the energy generated by the test equipment is very small, about 0.001%. But this does indicate that it is very possible to develop solar panels that can be used at night in the future. At present, the team is carrying out relevant research on a large scale and seeking to establish industrial partnership.
“We usually think that light will consume a certain amount of energy when it is emitted, but we can use radiant energy to emit light in the mid infrared band. At present, it has been proved that this method has the possibility of successfully extracting electric energy. The current technology is not enough to make the thermal radiation diode equipment into thousands of households, but we have proved the feasibility of this method and hope to make more progress in the next few years,” dawkes said.
Many scientists also strongly support the development of solar panels that operate around the clock. Rune Strandberg, a Norwegian researcher, was the first to explore this possibility. At present, Stanford University researchers are also exploring ways to use heat in the dark.