What if windows could generate electricity?
In pursuit of an answer, a team of Chinese researchers found a way to drastically improve a type of glass that can be used with solar technology, according to Interesting Engineering.
Solar glasses are often used in devices called luminescent solar concentrators. An LSC is designed to let some light pass through while absorbing the rest for power generation in connected solar cells.
However, this glass typically needs nanocrystals to work, and nanocrystals are not cheap or easy to install and cannot be reused if they get damaged, as explained by Interesting Engineering.
Scientists at Nankai University set out to fix that, and it seems they have delivered.
As the outlet reported, the team developed a new synthetic material that turns to glass when heated. During tests in an LSC device, it converted sunlight into power with a high performance rating while still letting enough rays through to be transparent.
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"We achieve the highest power conversion and optical efficiencies," the researchers wrote, per Interesting Engineering.
The best part is that after the material is used or damaged, it can be easily repaired with a simple high-temp reheat. Researchers worked and reworked this self-healing magic 10 times, and the glass was still able to keep 95 percent of its original performance, Interesting Engineering reported.
These findings show the potential to set a new standard for solar glass production that is cheaper, longer-lasting, and less wasteful. The technology still has some growing to do before it's ready for the world, but a day when people live and work inside buildings with electricity-generating windows may be closer than we think.
That's all good news for the future, as solar solutions can help homeowners and businesses cut a ton of utility costs. Plus, the more viable ways there are to harness energy from renewable sources like the sun instead of polluting fuels, the better.
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