The new device catches the heat leaving Earth and turns it into power. While the idea of generating solar power after the sun has set may seem impractical, researchers at the University of New South Wales have found a way to accomplish it. They have developed a new technology that could soon be powering our homes at night.
Their innovation takes advantage of the fact that solar panels cool at night. Power can be generated from the temperature difference between the cooling panels and the still-warm surrounding air. This is done using a thermoelectric generator, which produces power as heat passes through it.
Solar panels, as their name suggests, need sunlight to function. They consist of photovoltaic cells, featuring semiconductors that release electrons when hit by photons from sunlight -- producing electricity. In other words, they don't work at night. You may wonder why moonlight, which is just reflected sunlight after all, can't power solar panels.
Farmland is seen with standard solar panels from Cypress Creek Renewables, Oct. 28, 2021, in Thurmont, Md. A team of engineers at Stanford University have developed a solar cell that can generate some electricity at night. The research comes at a moment when the number of solar jobs and residential installations are rising.
Power tower or central receiver systems utilize sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats to focus sunlight onto a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver up to around 600ºC is used to generate steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity.
The TENG converts motion – in this case the impact of raindrops – into energy. As well as boosting power output on rainy days, the friction-powered panels can also produce electricity at night if it rains. The scientists say their solar panels offer “an efficient approach to collect energy from the environment in different weather conditions”.