Transparent Solar Panels?

A team of researchers at Michigan State University has developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. It is called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface. And, according to Richard Lunt of MSU's College of Engineering, the key word is "transparent." Research in the production of energy from solar cells placed around luminescent plastic-like materials is not new. 

 

 

Credit: MSU doctoral student Yimu Zhao.

MSU doctoral student Yimu Zhao holds up a transparent luminescent solar concentrator module. Credit: Yimu Zhao.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-solar-desnt-block-view.html#jCp

MSU doctoral student Yimu Zhao holds up a transparent luminescent solar concentrator module. Credit: Yimu Zhao.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-solar-desnt-block-view.html#jCp

 

Solar power with a view: MSU doctoral student Yimu Zhao holds up a transparent luminescent solar concentrator module. Credit: Yimu Zhao.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-solar-desnt-block-view.html#jCp

These past efforts, however, have yielded poor results - the energy production was inefficient and the materials were highly colored. "No one wants to sit behind colored glass," said Lunt, an assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science. "It makes for a very colorful environment, like working in a disco. We take an approach where we actually make the luminescent active layer itself transparent."
Read more at: http://www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/solar-energy-that-doesnt-block-the-view-00006824.asp?sessionid=1

and: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-solar-desnt-block-view.html