Called “anti-solar panels” by UC Davis researchers, these new devices could end up generating power during nighttime hours. This innovation could have huge implications for off-the-grid living, just imagine solar panels generating power from the sunlight during the day, and anti-panels generating power from heat during the night. Heat? Yes – this is exactly the method in which these anti-panels would generate power – from the radiant heat of the earth.
To explain how this works – first let us examine regular solar panels. Solar panels generate energy from the heat of the sun – because solar panels are colder than the sun’s rays. The heat is then converted into power through the photovoltaic cells and inverter. Anti-Solar panels work in a similar fashion – except instead of being heated by the sun, they are heated by surrounding radiant heat. Because the panels are warmer than space, they will pick up the radiant heat waves coming from the earth (because space is really, really cold). Solar panels are essentially heat engines, and these anti-panels are no different. They would only be about 25% as effective as normal panels, though. Even so, an excerpt from a sciencealert.com article illustrates the potential of these panels:
“Using a thermodynamic model of a thermoelectric power generator, scientists from Stanford University have now worked out a rooftop proof-of-concept that could theoretically generate 2.2 watts per square meter without the need for a battery or an external energy source…”
As far as the materials and technology used in these panels, the jury is still out. The concept of the panels is the same, however the materials could be completely different. Jeremy Munday, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis, said this:
“A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow. In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power,” Munday said. “You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same.”
With battery technology getting better and better each year, 24-hour self-sustaining power is getting closer to reality. The anti-solar panel option is an interesting potential option to get there.