Science Daily January 29, 2020
Photovoltaics can generate electricity during daylight hours. Researchers at the University of Maryland consider an alternative photovoltaic concept that uses the earth as a heat source and the night sky as a heat sink, resulting in a “nighttime photovoltaic cell” that employs thermoradiative photovoltaics and concepts from the advancing field of radiative cooling. In this perspective, they discuss the principles of thermoradiative photovoltaics, the theoretical limits of applying this concept to coupling with deep space, the potential of advanced radiative cooling techniques to enhance their performance, and a discussion of the practical limits, scalability, and integrability of this nighttime photovoltaic concept…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Solar panels against night sky background (stock image). Credit: © abriendomundo / Adobe Stock