Solar generator kit equipment are required to have sunlight in order to generate electricity, because of its utilization of energy are from sunlight, but in the night is not sunlight, so this makes solar and photovoltaic power generation equipment power generation capacity in the time distribution is extremely uneven, but the night of the electricity consumption is also quite large, which is also a major obstacle to limit the solar photovoltaic power generation.
April 5 publication of the United States "Applied Physics Letters" semi-monthly published a paper, scientists and engineers from Stanford University designed a solar panel that can generate electricity at night, is expected to solve the solar energy of photovoltaic power generation equipment can not generate electricity at night.
This solar panel looks nothing special, because its material is not special, but in its ability to absorb sunlight in addition to the battery plate attached to an insulating material called "thermoelectric module" (TEG and a unique material that can capture heat wavelengths), in addition to a In addition, there is an embedded thermoelectric generator (TEG), which works at night and "derives power from the temperature difference between the photovoltaic cell and its surroundings".
The invention is led by Stanford University electrical engineer FanShanhui, who explains that the new solar PV cell has two materials: a normal photovoltaic material that receives sunlight to generate electricity today, and a thermoelectric module insulation that absorbs the heat radiated by the PV cell at night, which would allow it to generate an electric current. So the principle of this technology is not difficult to understand, photovoltaic power generation equipment can be absorbed during the day sunlight to generate electricity at the same time will be light energy heat storage, and then at night through the radiator to the outside of the radiant heat, a large part of this energy can be captured by the thermoelectric module.
Chinese experts believe that this kind of power generation equipment is very suitable for installation in areas with a large temperature difference between day and night, such as Northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau, direct sunlight during the daytime is sufficient energy, and at night the air temperature is very low, the geographical environment is very conducive to the performance of this kind of power generation equipment. China is the world's largest producer of solar panels and the largest producer of solar power, so this technology may be of great significance to the development of China's solar industry.
After the publication of the paper the technology has been considered a breakthrough in the field of solar photovoltaic power generation, but at present this power generation equipment in the night output of electricity is still very little, the power generated at night is only 50mW (milliwatts) per square meter, to drive a 100-watt bulb will require dozens of square meters of area of the solar panels, so basically it is still very difficult to use effectively! State, and standard solar panels about the ideal state of power generation during the day, the power is about 1000W per square meter (W), day and night power generation can not be compared, and at night when the heat stored in the photovoltaic power generation is also cooled relatively quickly, the power generated by this technology will be attenuated very quickly until the amount of power is all gone, so this invention, although stunning, this is far from the practical application.
However, the inventor believes that the current design is still only an attempt, there is a lot of room for improvement, and in the future its power generation efficiency at night will be greatly improved.
