[NukeNet] Huge Solar Advance: Solar Power, No Panels Needed

[Bill Smirnow]

    http://blogs.discovery.com/news_sustainable/2008/07/photo-organic-s.html
July 10, 2008
Solar-Powered Home, No Panels Needed

A "solar concentrator" might sound like something an evil genius comes up
with to destroy the Big City in a comic book, but it's actually a way to
make solar power more accessible. Engineers at in MIT's electrical
engineering and computer science department recently made it possible for
regular old windows to harness solar energy and power a building with it.


Marc Baldo, associate professor of electrical engineering at MIT, led a team
of scientists that used special dyes to coat the windows, which helps them
effectively absorb the light. The light is then successfully collected
around the window edges by solar cells (see the rad photo). Baldo and his
team knew solar collectors had been used in large, pricey mirror setups, and
thought they could work on a smaller scale.

In an article set to be published in tomorrow's issue of Science, Baldo
reports that solar collectors increase the amount of electricity a solar
cell can harness by a factor of over 40, and they can make existing solar
panel systems 50 percent more efficient. Those are some sunny numbers. That
efficiency could make solar power cheaper. In addition, three grad students
from the research team are starting their own company, called Covalent
Solar--gotta love that name--to bring this technology to a store near you.
I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it...after I figure out how to get my
windows to close completely.

Photo: Organic solar concentrators. Credit: Donna Coveney, MIT

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Posted at 02:01 PM in Architecture, Environment, Green Ideas, Science |
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