World’s first night solar panels unveiled; no sun, no problem

These scientists man, they are going to put the likes of ZESA out of business, and I’m all for it. Some researchers have developed solar panels that produce electricity at night. No sun, no problem – say these panels.

Stanford University researchers have developed solar panels capable of producing electricity at night by leveraging radiative cooling.

What’s radiative cooling? I understood it to mean the process where heat naturally escapes from surfaces and disappears into space, especially when the sky is clear at night. That heat escape is what the researchers are taking advantage of.

By attaching thermoelectric generators to modified solar panels, researchers harnessed dissipating heat to generate small amounts of power—approximately 50 milliwatts per square meter.

Now, here’s the major downside that you probably saw coming – 50 milliwatts per square metre is not that much. Traditional solar panels produce approximately 200 watts per square metre during the day.

That means you would need 4000 night time solar panels producing 50 milliwatts per square metre to match a regular one that produces 200 watts. However, that’s an apples to oranges comparison, a night vs day comparison if you will.

The first thing to note is that the researchers are modifying regular solar panels to give them the night time super powers. So, it won’t be a case of buying regular ones and night time ones. You won’t even have to buy new solar panels altogether as the tech can be retrofitted into existing solar panels.

Then come the applications of the seemingly paltry output. Though modest compared to the 200 watts per square meter produced by traditional solar panels during the day, this energy is sufficient to power small devices like LEDs, environmental sensors, IOT devices, and other low-power equipment.

So, here are a few real world uses of the seemingly paltry night solar panels. For the environmental sensors that might not apply to regular homes:

• Soil Moisture Sensors – Used in gardens or farms for automated irrigation systems. Would be huge for farmers, obviously.
• Pest Detection Systems – Sensors that detect movement or the presence of pests in outdoor spaces.

Then when it comes to IoT devices and LEDs, you could benefit too, even if you’re not a farmer:

• Motion-Activated Outdoor Lights – Low-energy motion sensors paired with LEDs for security.
• Leak Detectors – IoT devices placed under sinks or near water heaters to detect leaks or flooding.
• Nightlights – Small LED nightlights that run continuously during nighttime.
• Emergency Lighting – LEDs that provide light during power outages. I wonder if you Zimbabweans know about those, power outages are a thing that exist in this world.
• Wireless Security Cameras – Low-energy cameras that monitor homes, especially in standby mode.

As you can see, while you won’t be running your fridge on night solar any time soon, you would still benefit from the radiative cooling tech they possess and their 50 milliwatts per square metre.

On a positive note, the researchers see the technology improving with time. Probably never to match day time panel productivity but still, any improvements would be welcome.

Beyond electricity generation, radiative cooling has diverse applications. Companies like SkyCool Systems have utilised it for zero-energy air conditioning, while researchers at ETH Zurich have applied it to produce potable water in arid regions.

Also read:

• Zim could meet 50% of electricity demand using solar by 2025, says govt. From which projects?
• This hat can charge your phone
• ZESA Net Metering: Zimbabweans With Solar Encouraged To Sell Their Excess Electricity Into National Grid