Researchers use new AI to advance solar cell manufacturing
Solar energy is becoming more affordable and easier to produce every day. As the market grows, so too is the field of research. Solar scientists have been working with perovskites, a family of mineral and ceramic materials that are a top contender to replace silicon as the next level up in Read More...
Solar cell technology nears impressive record efficiency of 30 percent
Our technology for harvesting solar power has just gotten better thanks to scientists in Germany who have achieved a new efficiency record of almost 30 percent. The new achievement comes from researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) who created a new solar cell that combined silicon and Read More...
Smart windows change colors when its hot outside to cool your home
Figuring out ways to slash our over-reliance on air conditioners can go a long way in reducing the energy costs and emissions that usually go hand in hand with using these cooling machines. One way to do this is to tap into the key role that windows play when it comes to saving energy. Recently, Read More...
Two new innovations allow solar cells to harness more light
Solar cells work by absorbing light waves, harnessing the photons' energy to knock electrons off of atoms, thereby generating electricity. Here's the thing, though: different light waves have different levels of energy, and current solar cells can't use low-frequency wavelengths of Read More...
This cheap mineral is making LED lighting technology far more efficient
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be the most energy efficient light-generating technology we have now, but scientists have found a way to make them even more efficient. Using perovskite, a mineral found abundantly in the Earth’s mantle, as the semiconductor, the LED can produce light more Read More...
New solar panels are cheaper, more environmentally sustainable
Scientists from Northwestern University have created a new type of solar panel that is less expensive to produce, better for the environment, and could eventually be more efficient at capturing the suns rays and turning them into energy. Perovskite solar panels, solar cells with a crystal structure Read More...