To generate electricity at night proposed "anti-solar" batteries

As much as we would like to switch to renewable energy sources, they all have certain disadvantages. Solar panels, for example, only work during daylight hours. At night, they are idle, and the energy is drawn from batteries charged during the day. Thermal radiation panels invented by scientists will help to circumvent this limitation.

As the Internet resource suggests ExtremeTech, researchers from the University of California Davis have proposed the concept of "anti-solar" panels that can generate electricity by emitting the heat accumulated by the panels themselves (infrared radiation). Since infrared radiation has less energy than visible radiation, "anti-solar" panels will generate up to about 25% of the electricity of the capacity of conventional solar panels of the same area. But is it better than nothing?

Thermal radiation panels generate electricity differently from solar panels. In conventional panels, visible light in the form of photons penetrates into the semiconductor of the photocell and in the process of interaction with the substance gives him his energy. The thermoradiation elements proposed by scientists work on a similar principle, they only use the energy of infrared radiation. The physics is the same, but the materials in the elements must be different, as the scientists stated in a related journal article. ACS Photonics.

The question of the operation of a thermoradiation element in the daytime remains open, although the conditions for its operation during the day can also be created. At night, the thermoradiation element heated during the day actively radiates the heat accumulated by it into a colder open space. In the process of infrared radiation in the material of the thermoradiation element, the energy of the emitted particles is converted into electrical energy. In principle, such a converter can start working as soon as the ambient temperature drops below its heating point.

At the moment, scientists are not ready to show a prototype of a thermoradiation element and are only approaching its creation. There is also no data on which material will be preferable for the production of thermoradiation elements. The article deals with the possible use of mercury alloys, which makes us think about safety. At the same time, it would be tempting to have cells that could generate electricity not only during the day but also at night.

Source: 3dnews.ru