Transparent solar cells

Yes, you read that right.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...d-make-every-window-and-screen-a-power-source



Just think. Sustainable cities whose buildings generate their own power from the sunlight streaming through their windows.

:major

 

Wow. That is awesome.

 

Cool! Would be great in large cities, and even smaller applications like charging your smart phone. Might could even help charge the 'green' cars without using the electric grid.

 

There's also some kind of semi-transparent photo-voltaic cell that is made from algae, of all things.:yum

 

Well, is 'green' huh? :-D

 

Algae: is good food.

:drool

 

Yeppers, that's how they discovered it, allegedly.

 

Just imagine the cost of a broken window!! :eek

 

It's not just that you would pay a few Million $$$ for your windows. That alone is enough to ruin anyone's day, but you'll have a black-out until its repaired. LOL

 

Like any new technology, it is usually very expensive at first. Seems like on double pane windows, you could use the solar on the outside, and regular glass on the inside? Seems like the best way to use solar would be to have it provide a % of used power per building, with traditional grid power supplying the rest or all, in the case of damage to solar units.

A small house with few windows might only use 5% solar, and the rest traditional, while a very large building that is 90% glass might use a much higher amount of solar.

As far as those evil, pollution loving companies, supply them a green energy that works, is cost efficient to scale to large areas, and is profitable to them, I bet they would jump on it.

Green energy hates birds:

http://news.yahoo.com/wind-turbines-kill-birds-190145748.html

Maybe it should be "Red Energy"... The poor avians...

 

"Quote:
Wind energy is frequently touted as a clean, green source of energy that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

But like all sources of energy, wind power comes at a cost — one that's too often borne by eagles, hawks, falcons, owls and other birds.

Wind turbines kill more than 573,000 birds each year in the United States, according to The Associated Press, including federally protected species like bald eagles and golden eagles. [In Photos: Birds of Prey]

Even bats are falling victim to wind-turbine blades: The Pennsylvania Game Commission estimates that more than 10,000 bats are killed in the state each year by wind turbines, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Of course, birds die from other causes, too: Structures like glass-walled office buildings and utility towers, vehicular collisions and carnivorous animals (including domestic cats) kill far more birds each year than wind turbines do."


Ya, but those same birds Eagles and bats can fly through a, (closed!), window. Sounds like a good argument against, to me.rolleyes

It's midnight so, I'll attempt to do something else, again, (*sigh!>. Like sleeeep!

 

I left that in there on purpose. Almost all things have a trade off. :-D

But solar windows make sense, especially since we already have windows all over the place, would be cool if we could get some power from them, and reduce coal/natural gas powered electric plants.

 

You mean, "Lake Windmill"....LOL

 

Just think of the cooling one of those bad boys would do for overclocking your PC. :cool You would need one hell of a computer case.

I had no idea they were that big.