Even our experts at North Georgia Replacement Windows couldn’t have predicted even a few years ago that the windows in our homes and buildings could be used as an efficient power source. It may sound absurd, but a recently innovative technology design may forever alter the way we use energy. Thanks to the folks at Michigan State University, the world’s first transparent solar cell has been created.
Windows and Energy Efficiency
What exactly does this device do you may ask? It gives any sheet of glass the ability to generate solar electricity. In essence, these transparent solar concentrators, as Michigan State’s research team has named them, convert the glass into a usable photovoltaic cell. That includes smart phone screens, which could very well be the next application for this revolutionary, eco-friendly technology.
What differentiates these solar concentrators is their truly transparent design, which means they are virtually invisible to the naked eye when installed. Visibility thus remains unhindered while the device absorbs energy from the sun. The potential cost-savings that business owners who decide to invest in this technology could be astronomical, especially when they are installed on buildings with a large amount of windows.
Given how lucrative such a product is in this increasingly green society, do not be surprised to see more building developers integrate solar concentrators into their designs. In light of the government’s emphasis on LEED certification, such measures would be a major positive shift for the environmental industry at large.
To avoid the common pitfall of color shadow costing found in conventional solar cells, the new devices are actually comprised of a transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC). Organic salts absorb specific ultraviolet and infrared light wavelengths and subsequently radiate them as alternative infrared light.
In layman’s terms, this allows light energy to be stored and used without causing visible interruptions in the window glass. Although the current models are only capable of producing 1 percent solar efficiency, the researchers at Michigan State are hopeful that 5 percent is within reach. If installed in every replacement window, annual nonrenewable resource power consumption could decrease on a dramatic scale in the coming years.
Right now, the best characteristic of the solar concentrators is their application versatility. From commercial windows to smartphone screens, the potential power-generating capabilities are endless. North Georgia Replacement Windows is excited to see how this technology progresses and will likely train our window installers on how to work with it when it goes global.
