Collaborate Disseminate
Windows are great for letting in light, but in summer months that comes with an unwanted side order of heat, causing many people to run the air conditioning non-stop. Now, researchers have developed windows that can change color automatically when heat… Continue reading Smart windows darken and become solar cells when heated
Join us on Wednesday, August 26 at noon Pacific for the CNC on the Desktop Hack Chat with Matt Hertel and John Allwine!
Once limited to multi-million dollar machines on the floors of cavernous factories, CNC technology has moved so far downscale in terms of machine size that it’s often …read more
Worksport has decided the nice flat surface on the back of a pickup truck is a great place for a solar array, so it’s launching TerraVis, a photovoltaic, folding tonneau cover that takes power from the sun and stores it bed-mounted and removable batter… Continue reading WorkSport to launch a foldable, solar tray cover for pickup trucks
Join us on Wednesday, August 19 at noon Pacific for the Open and Sustainable Engineering Hack Chat with Joshua Pearce!
Since the first of our hominid ancestors learned to pick up a rock and make it into a tool, we humans have been using our engineering skills to change the …read more
Researchers at Aalto University have developed a photovoltaic device that has an external quantum efficiency of 132 percent. This impossible-sounding feat was achieved using nanostructured black silicon, and could represent a major breakthrough for solar cells and other photodetectors.
Tags: Solar Cell, Photovoltaic, Silicon, Aalto University, Energy, Solar Power, Efficiency, World’s Most Efficient, New Atlas Audio
Continue reading Black silicon photodetector hits record-breaking 132% efficiency
One of the problems with powered implants such as pacemakers is the fact that when their batteries run out of juice, they have to be surgically replaced. According to a new study, though, it may someday be possible to recharge those batteries by shinin… Continue reading Active photonic power transfer tech uses light to charge implants
We’ve been following the progress of German startup Sono Motors since the first renders of its solar cell-packing Sion electric family car appeared in 2016. With a new prototype coming later this year, we emailed CEO Jona Christians for a catch up.Cont… Continue reading Interview with Jona Christians, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors
Given that solar panels lie in direct sunlight, it goes without saying that they can get pretty hot. Unfortunately, though, they also get less efficient as they heat up. That said, a new gel could help cool them … without using any electricity.Continue… Continue reading Polymer gel pulls in water vapor to cool solar panels
It might sound counterintuitive to put solar cells indoors, but there’s still plenty of light energy inside that’s largely going to waste. Now, a team of engineers is claiming to have created flexible perovskite solar cells with the highest efficiency … Continue reading Indoor perovskite solar cells pack high efficiency in artificial light
While we’re used to seeing buildings with photovoltaic panels on their roofs, the fronts of those buildings are typically panel-free. German researchers are working on putting that space to use, with facade-based solar panels.Continue ReadingCategory: … Continue reading Facade-mounted panels designed to boost solar uptake