Colorful New Solar Panels Work Even on Cloudy Days

While solar panels are a terrific way to harness clean energy, they do have their downsides. One of the biggest problems with traditional solar panels is their performance when clouds come out, as they require direct exposure to sunlight in order to produce electricity. Another major issue with the solar panels on the market today is their steep cost due to the amount of silicon they require.

An Israeli company named GreenSun Energy has been working to address these problems, and have developed a new type of solar panel that works without direct exposure to the sun. One key to the design is the colorful hues of the panels, which allow them to transform only some parts of the sun’s light sunlight into solar energy. This reduces heat and eliminates the need to cool the panels.

They work best on bright days, but as they are able to convert even dispersed light into electricity, can produce lots of power even when clouds roll in. And, since they don’t have to directly face the sun, they can be deployed anywhere on a building, not just on the roof. The clever design also cuts down the amount of silicon compared to traditional panels, keeping costs low.

While still quite far from production, GreenSun Energy is confident that these panels will revolutionize the green electricity market when they do go on sale. If they can keep increasing efficiency and reducing costs, we could soon see entire buildings covered with these panels.

For more details, check out National Geographic for a short video about the new panels.