You will have noticed that standard solar panels are opaque or in other words you can t see through them.
Are there see through solar panels.
California continues to forge a solar future for itself.
Appealing to environmentalists and architects alike see through solar could enable a shift away from bulky solar panels without a reduction in energy generation.
A see through panel like the one described by erasmus could offer even more chances to place panels in gadgets.
When we think of solar panels we tend to imagine the bulky units on people s rooftops or in large solar arrays but there s another kind of solar technology in development and it s virtually invisible.
There is a great deal of research and development going into this new form of solar energy generation and this page takes you through some of the key information.
The latest is the approval of rules that require new houses and low rise apartment buildings to have some form of solar power.
Researchers in south africa and belgium from free state and ghent university have developed a very special glass that can shift non visible light to a solar panel by using certain phosphor materials in glass the pane is able to let visible light through while redirecting ultraviolet and infrared rays to small solar panels mounted at the sides.
For years researchers have been investigating ways to make transparent see through solar panels that effectively resemble glass.
It provides us with a new and exciting form of solar energy that is generated through what looks like clear glass.
The benefits of solar panels are clear but what about the solar panels themselves.
Rumors from 2014 suggest apple was exploring ways to put solar panels in the apple.
There is still a long way to go before transparent solar panels become reality but if the innovations introduced in this article can be scaled and produced more cheaply then the seemingly far away dream of a solar powered future is not so far away.
Builders could one day be installing windows in homes and offices that double up as see through solar panels after scientists in america this week announced a breakthrough in cell technology.