One of the “problems” with electricity production is its storage. There are many solutions, but their efficiency is still far from ideal. In search of new ways to store energy, researchers have developed smart windows that, in addition to producing energy, can also store it.
Smart windows produce and store solar energy
Scientists have developed a new type of smart electrochemical window that, in addition to being self-powering, can also store solar energy.
In addition, they can also change their transparency depending on weather conditions to improve room comfort and reduce indoor air conditioning costs.
A group of researchers from Henan University (China) developed photovoltaic windows produced using Kestreetable to regulate light radiation and even store energy.
Electric windows contain crystals coated with special materials (such as tungsten oxide or nickel oxide), which alter their ability to transmit light in response to voltage. In this way, the amount of light and heat entering the room is controlled.
This is an active technology: an electrical discharge is required for the device to change its dimming.
What are the benefits?
It has been proven Electric glazing can offset up to 30% of a building's energy needs. However, on the other hand, they require an external power source, which greatly limits their application. This is why this technology has been combined with photovoltaics over the years.
Solar-powered electrochromic smart windows are a promising energy-saving solution, although they still suffer from many limitations. One of them is the color: As they darken, they turn blue, which reduces visual comfort. Moreover, the addition of silicon solar cells greatly increases production costs.
Photovoltaic windows made of kesterite.
New photovoltaic windows from Henan University provide an excellent solution. In particular, the team led by Guofà Cai has integrated an electrochromic window based on bimetallic nickel-cobalt oxide (NiCoO2) with CZTSSe thin-film solar cells. The latter is the laboratory version of kestrite metal, a material with good optical and electronic properties and high stability and obtained from abundant and non-toxic elements.
Of course, its performance is still not at the level of crystalline silicon. But it still offers returns of only about 12%.
NiCoO2 films, prepared by chemical bath deposition, have an aesthetically neutral color, which can improve visual comfort for residents. The 1.89 cm2 miniature photovoltaic module, embedded in the glass, provides a stable and efficient source of its own energy for electromagnets.
Pictured is an example of how this technology can, during the day, store energy, through production in windows, and use it during the night.
And where is the "battery"?
The window also includes a titanium oxide (TiO2) film as a auxiliary electrode with excellent energy storage properties.
In fact, this nanoparticle film acts as an ionic storage layer thanks to its good charge balancing ability and high permeability.
Tested under normal lighting conditions, the PV kesterite window recorded an energy consumption of 318.3 MWh/m2 and an overall efficiency of 2.15%.
according to Scientists, these values are comparable to those of current solar glass. It also provides excellent optical modulation (56.0% at 550 nm) and fast staining speed (17 seconds).
The results of the study have been published in the journal solar materials solar cells and placed the invention in the category of electric windows.
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