Tall Building Windows could become Energy Plants
We have been talking more and more about alternative energy recently in this blog and so here is another post on an exciting solar energy development from researchers at MIT.
The Comcast Center in Philadelphia could be a good candidate.
The technique involves coating glass panes with transparent dyes that redirect light to solar cells in the frame. The technique would be applied to the sides of tall buildings as the window panes would make the buildings large energy plants.
How does this actually work?
The light comes in and hits the dye which absorbs it and re-emits the light. Since the light is now inside the glass it bounces along until it reaches the edge so you only have to mount the solar cells on the edge of the pane.
This technology was actually developed in the 70s, according to the BBC article, but was abandoned since the light lost much of its energy along the route to the cell. Now with the dyes, there is just a little bit of energy loss.
According to the MIT researchers......
--This technology will improve existing panels by 50%.
--They are simple to manufacture.
--They are about 3 years away from being able to mass produce.
