Clear Solar Cells Could Help Windows Generate Power

ckwu writes "The vast real estate of windows in office buildings and skyscrapers could be a fruitful field for harvesting solar energy—if lightweight solar cells could be made with a high enough conversion efficiency and appealing aesthetics. Now researchers at Oxford University report semitransparent solar cells that might do the trick. The team made solar cells using a perovskite, a class of mineral-like materials that have properties similar to inorganic semiconductors and show sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies of more than 15%. The team deposited a thin film of perovskite onto glass so that the material formed tiny crystalline islands. The islands absorb photons and convert them to electrons, while light striking the empty areas passes through. The result was a semitransparent solar cell with a grayish tint."

Re:It's not about places to put them.

[Lumpy]

These are thin film solar technology that has less than a 3 year lifespan. they lose nearly 30% of their power output withing 8 months. It is the same junk as the solar panels sold at Harbor Freight.

Re:How do they do that?

[Muros]

Wrong. The photoelectric effect explains how electrons energized by photons can escape their atomic bonds. It does not involve photons being converted into electrons.