Solar panels and wind turbines already provide tons of clean, renewable energy for people worldwide and help reduce reliance on dirty fuels for electricity, but the technology around both is still evolving.
Scientists from South Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology have developed a device that combines wind and solar energy to collect clean energy more efficiently.
A wind-powered electrodynamic screen device has enabled scientists to create a self-cleaning solar panel.
A self-cleaning solar panel is a big deal. Since solar panels work by absorbing sunlight, they must be free of dust and dirt, otherwise the light will be blocked. dangerous. Few solar panels are installed in places that can be easily accessed and removed (with some exceptions).
As Interesting Engineering details, the electrodynamic screen is able to clean a solar panel without human assistance using high-voltage electric fields. But the screen also needs to get power from an external source, and that’s where wind power comes in.
By introducing a triboelectric nanogenerator that harnesses the wind’s frictional energy, the researchers were able to generate enough electricity to power the electrodynamic display, allowing the solar panel to remain nearly 90% clean forever.
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“We have found a way to turn the abundant wind energy into a means of maintaining the panel’s cell efficiency. This is a big step towards ensuring that solar power remains the dominant solution for a cleaner future,” said Professor Lee Ju-Hyuck, who led the research.
Using one type of clean energy to improve the efficiency of another type of clean energy is a particularly elegant solution to the problem — and the kind of technological development we can hope and expect to see more of as solar and wind continue to become more common. widespread.
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