That s because solar panels are trying to capture visible light in order to generate power so it d be useless if they were see through.
Are there see through solar panels.
When we think of solar panels we tend to imagine the bulky units on people s rooftops or in large solar arrays but there s another kind of solar technology in development and it s virtually invisible.
You will have noticed that standard solar panels are opaque or in other words you can t see through them.
Builders could one day be installing windows in homes and offices that double up as see through solar panels after scientists in america this week announced a breakthrough in cell technology.
Researchers in south africa and belgium from free state and ghent university have developed a very special glass that can shift non visible light to a solar panel by using certain phosphor materials in glass the pane is able to let visible light through while redirecting ultraviolet and infrared rays to small solar panels mounted at the sides.
The latest is the approval of rules that require new houses and low rise apartment buildings to have some form of solar power.
In an effort to commercialise transparent solar technology lunt founded the company ubiquitous energy with report co authors richa pandey as principal scientist and miles barr as ceo.
California continues to forge a solar future for itself.
The benefits of solar panels are clear but what about the solar panels themselves.
Solar panels and solar power generating windows are a couple of things people have come up with to take advantage of the sun but now a team of engineering researchers.
There is still a long way to go before transparent solar panels become reality but if the innovations introduced in this article can be scaled and produced more cheaply then the seemingly far away dream of a solar powered future is not so far away.
Rumors from 2014 suggest apple was exploring ways to put solar panels in the apple.
For years researchers have been investigating ways to make transparent see through solar panels that effectively resemble glass.
There is a great deal of research and development going into this new form of solar energy generation and this page takes you through some of the key information.