Generate solar electricity with your window panes!

For several years, researchers have been working to develop a solar film that can be applied to windows, allow light to shine through, but still generate clean, solar electricity.  This week, New Energy Technologies showcased its new SolarWindow™ technology at the University of South Florida.

Its the ultimate in building integrated photovoltaics!  Spray-on solar film can literally turn any building surface, including glass, into solar panels.  Not only is it sleek and convenient, but researchers state that SolarWindow™ is up to 10 times more efficient than traditional PV panels and other thin-film technologies.

Don’t expect to find a can of spray-on solar cells at your local hardware store, however!  New Energy’s SolarWindow™ coatings are applied onto surfaces with a patent-pending process.  The solar cell coatings absorb UV light and convert it to electricity, while still allowing you to see through the window.

SolarWindow™ technology will even be able to convert artificial light (from interior lightbulbs) into electricity, boosting the output even higher.  No other conventional solar technology can generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources.

I cannot wait until we start seeing SolarWindows in our neighborhoods and on office buildings!

Solar panel glass concept

Do you wish that tapping into solar power was as easy as replacing your windows?  Well, your dream is close to coming true.  In July, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced the successful development of “solar concentrators,” aka solar panel glass.  These specialized panes operate by collecting the energy from sunlight that strikes a window and then concentrating it at the edges of the pane, where solar cells are located.  Solar panel glass, when installed, would be an unobtrusive, efficient way to use solar energy to power your home or commercial building.  Looks like a “clear” option for solar power to me!

Solar panel glass has an increased efficiency over traditional solar panels by up to 100%.  Although the efficiency may be increased even more, for now, solar panel glass is most appropriate for office buildings with large areas covered by windows. Similar to solar paint, special dyes that absorb light are “painted” onto a pane of solar panel glass. When UV light strikes the specialized panes, solar energy is pushed out to the edges and collected, where it is harnessed on much smaller surfaces of solar cells.

Mark Baldo, the leading MIT researcher, explains the process:

Solar panel glass windows will be a more cost-effective way of utilizing renewable solar energy, than larger, more expensive solar panels. As excited as I am about these prospects, we will just have to wait a bit before retrofitting our homes and offices with solar panel glass.  Expect another 2-3 years before you’ll find solar panel glass on the market.  I can hardly wait!