This technology, known as “moonlight panels,” addresses the long-standing issue of solar panels being inactive after sunset.
Professor Shanhui Fan and his team have developed a method to harness the natural process of radiative cooling, allowing solar panels to convert the night sky into a power source.
By attaching thermoelectric generators to modified commercial solar panels, they can capture dissipating heat, producing approximately 50 milliwatts per square meter at night.
While this output is significantly lower than the daytime capacity of typical solar panels, which can generate around 200 watts per square meter, it is sufficient for powering small devices such as LEDs and environmental sensors.
The innovation promises to enhance sustainable energy solutions, particularly for off-grid applications.
This technology can be retrofitted into existing solar panel systems, providing an affordable way to improve the reliability of renewable energy sources.
It also has the potential to reduce reliance on batteries, minimizing the ecological impact associated with battery production and disposal.
Researchers believe that nighttime solar panels could significantly enhance solar energy adoption in areas with limited sunlight, bridging the gap during hours when conventional solar energy is unavailable.
How can solar panels generate electricity at night?
Prof Shanhui and his team attached thermoelectric generators to modified commercial solar panels to collect the dissipating heat, yielding small amounts of usable power. The altered panels yield 50 milliwatts per square meter at night.
“While this is much less than the performance of 200 watts per square meter generated by typical solar panels for a day, it is still sufficient for tiny devices such as LEDs and environmental sensors. Although it is very modest energy generation, there is significant potential for improvement,” the lead researcher Shanhui Fan in the Stanford website, said.
