Researchers have succeeded in capturing and re-using some of the thermal energy lost on the surfaces of solar cells. How was this accomplished?
In theory, up-converters transform infrared radiation into usable light. So researchers utilized this concept to re-use the radiated heat from solar panels to generate power.
"We have been able to adapt both the solar cells and the up-converter so as to obtain the biggest improvement in efficiency so far" states Stefan Fischer, a scientist at ISE.
Research Credits:
Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg + colleagues at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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