Friday 30 July 2010

Spray On Solar Glass - Window Cleaning "Add-On?"



Spray On Solar Glass A Coming Reality: There have been plenty of shouts and rumors about see-through solar glass, but until now the technology had not reached the point where anyone was ready to begin commercial development. That appears to have changed, as New Energy Technologies, Inc., of Maryland, recently announced that researchers working on its proprietary Solar Window technology have achieved a series of breakthroughs that will allow the company to unveil a working prototype of the world’s first-ever glass window capable of generating electricity. The University of South Florida Research Foundation has granted New Energy an exclusive, worldwide license for technologies to enable commercial development of the product.



Until now, the limiting factors appear to have been the need for metals and various expensive processes that block visibility and prevent light from passing through glass surfaces. New Energy see-through solar glass is made possible by the world’s smallest working organic solar cells, a nanotechnology application developed by Dr. Xiaomei Jiang at the University of South Florida. Unlike conventional solar energy systems, New Energy’s solar cells are capable of generating electricity from both natural and artificial light sources; according to the company, they outperform today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold.



Technical hurdles surpassed in recent months by New Energy’s researchers include testing of these nanotech solar cells, measuring less than ¼ the size of a grain of rice, which generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources; development of a patent-pending process to spray SolarWindow coatings onto see-through glass using commercially available technologies; and the ability to spray SolarWindow coatings onto glass at room temperature, eliminating expensive high-temperature or high-vacuum production methods commonly used by current solar manufacturers.



Sphelar cells are the new 'power windows': Developed by Kyosemi Corporation, Sphelar solar cells are one of the most intriguing solar solutions that we have seen in a while. On display at the recent PV Expo 2010 in Tokyo, these tiny spherical cells gave us a glimpse of how windows in buildings might be used to collect solar power in the not-so-distant future. Sphelar cells are solidified silicon drops measuring 1.8 mm in diameter and are highly transparent, which is advantageous for a number of reasons. They can be embedded in glass to create a transparent solar cell window, capable of absorbing light from any direction or angle. Because both sides of the glass can collect light, this should translate into highly efficient energy harvesting.



The cells can also be embedded in flexible surfaces, allowing for them to take on unusual shapes or be bent if necessary. The Sphelar Dome is one such example, designed to absorb more energy in the early morning and late evening unlike a flatter design. Have we seen the last of roof-mounted solar panels? It's exciting to think that a day may come when these 'power windows' could be in buildings everywhere, integrated into existing structural designs.

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