Solar energy, which is one of the most preferred green energy solutions, hosts a fundamentally important problem. The panels installed to benefit from solar energy cannot store solar energy in any way due to the lack of light during the daytime and naturally at night.
Researcher Sid Assawaworrarit, an electrical engineer, and his colleagues managed to find a new and revolutionary solution to this. The team developed a new solution that enables energy storage even at night. Let’s take a closer look at the new solution the team has developed.
The task of the solar panel is reversed at night
Focusing on collecting energy with solar panels at night, the team took advantage of the night time. On clear nights, infrared radiation from the surface of the solar panels was allowed to spread freely into the air. Wanting to turn this into an advantage, the team combined a standard panel with a thermoelectric generator.
With the new product, it was possible to obtain energy, albeit a small amount, from the small temperature difference between the ambient air and the surface of the solar panel. In order to equalize the temperature difference between the air and the panel surface, the heat carried by the photons mixed into the air from the panel was captured by the thermoelectric generator.
According to the statement made by the team, the energy provided by a solar panel per square meter in the open air, with the device that emerged, reached 50 mW. The team explained that this level is a record, but they will not stop there.
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