Exploring a New Transparent Solar Cell Breakthrough

Do you think we'll see transparent solar on most of our buildings ... maybe even cars, laptops, and smartphones in the future? If you liked this video, be sure to check out Exploring Why This Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Matters: hhttps://youtu.be/-KEwkWjADEA?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi7UWp64ZlOKUPNXePMTdU4d

I kept hearing, '... it is not as efficient as rooftop installations...' True, but you can do both. As long as transparent solar cells are efficient enough to pay back the costs in a reasonable amount of time, it is worth using now. And the more people who use them now, the more money will be put into research making them more efficient.

As a method of generating energy they're not efficient, but as a method of preventing heat from entering the building while also allowing light or even visibility means that they are significantly better as a window than a standard PV panel, then on top of those advantages it generates some electricity which makes it somewhat better than just IR reflective glass.

We have a glass company in Minnesota here, Sage glass, that makes a glass that can be shaded by using electricity to darken it. A side effect that they found with this glass is it can save major heating and cooling costs by absorbing and transferring heat in cold months or absorbing and radiating off heat in warm months. It's quiet amazing what we are seeing come out of glass.

The greatest advantage of transparent solar windows and solar roof tiles is that these aren't architecturally or aesthetically invading... unlike big solar panels hanged on a roof top. Even if overall less performant, these have non-negligible advantages. An 18th century patrimonial historic building could be easily convert to solar power without ruining it's look... skyscrapers could be convert without adding any additional wind drag... no risks to see someone stealing your solar panels... well, you'll literally see him coming if happen etc etc.

I disagree with your comments on the efficiency "problem". The comparison shouldn't be transparent cells vs standard cells, but instead transparent cells vs standard windows.

A green light PV would be good for greenhouses, letting red and blue go through for photosynthesis.

Now the puns are in the video title. Lol! Love it!

A payback time of 1 year is HUGE, even 4 years is staggering. With the clear cost savings, I wonder how long it will be before these are not just optional, but required. Paired with the newer cheap batteries like the Iron Air Batteries, these are going to be a game changer.

Very interesting. The cost of the actual PV cells has dropped so low, that the glass is now a large factor in cost. The partially transparent glass is a clever double use of existing building materials. The more transparent options need more improvement, but have good potential.

As someone who grew up in Monterrey, I never imagined I'd hear my home-city mentioned in one of your videos, and I also didn't know that one of the buildings here was using such an innovative technology. That's awesome!

Raw efficiency and lifespan aren't the important questions. Rather, it's cost vs. performance, and opportunity cost. It doesn't really matter what the exact numbers are, as long as the panes provide at least as much benefit as other available options, at comparable expense. Make them cheap enough, and even 4-5% efficiency starts looking real good. You just need to make sure that all the important cradle-to-grave considerations have been factored in, e.g. support and operating costs, durability and replacement cycles, amount of expected solar insolation, local electric prices, etc.

"Take your phone out of the sun, it will melt the plastic!" Oh Grandma...that's not how that works anymore soon

I've been following your channel for 2 months and i'm so impressed by the content you provide and the way you talk about it. Thank you so much for your exceptional work !

Love your content! I remember thinking about this concept years ago. I'm so glad it maybe coming to pass in my lifetime. I would love to participate in the use of this technology. I'm still amazed at the Tesla solar shingles and would love to have these installed on my roof. Next, solar siding for houses. What about using transparent solar panels that are installed over siding, not only making them solar but keeping them clean would be much easier than painting or power washing. Of course, I have no clue, but I'm sure the technology is already out there, if not in a mature state, but close to it. Power/energy availability would be unreal and available in so many areas where its not available now. How wonderful! If only....

Yet another fantastic video Matt! I have been thinking about solar panels being able to do this for decades and haven't seen any progress made. With the exception of that film you can put on glass that can capture moonlight as well as sunlight, there hasn't been anything exciting. Keep these awesome videos coming!

All of the favorable cost comparisons with traditional triple paned glass makes us wonder about the potentially huge replacement window market, after the efficiency issues are addressed. One area not discussed is the infrastructure required to harvest the electricity. When you consider wiring upgrades, inverter costs, regulatory approvals, this may not be a reasonable thing, even with homes already set up with solar panels and energy storage systems.

A bit off topic but I kind of want stained glass solar windows now. It would be beautiful, useful, and still letting light through. Such glass on my phone would be pretty awesome too, it only needs to generate 15W to trickle charge a phone or tablet.

Several times you mentioned the lower efficiency of windows compared to rooftop installations as a downside, which ignores the simple possibility of, "why not both?"

I can imagine both types being usefull to build greenhouses. Partly transparent solar pannels would be great for plants that like a bit of shadow. Would also work great in dessert areas to make a cool greenhouse and use the electricity for desalination.