Have windows? Then you could collect solar energy, says a new study published in the journal Science. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a light-absorbing dye that, when painted on a window, transfers energy via the glass into solar cells at the window’s edges (through a process we don’t pretend to understand). If the dye-coated glass is placed atop a solar panel, wavelengths of light that sneak through the glass can be converted into electricity by the panel. “We saw approximately 30 percent higher performance in the combined system compared to a stand-alone solar cell,” says coauthor Marc Baldo. “We think that ultimately this approach will allow us to nearly double the performance of existing solar cells for minimal added cost.” The MIT folk say their “solar concentrator” is inexpensive, easy to manufacture, and could be marketed within three years.
