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Solar windows use sunlight to retain a building's heat
A domestic property loses as much as 20 percent of its heat through windows. For big glassy commercial buildings, that figure is a lot higher, resulting in big heating bills and inevitable disputes among employees about the thermostat. But researchers have now found a way to turn ordinary windows into solar-powered heaters, using energy from the sun to boost window temperature by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Solar car race kicks off 30th anniversary with a fresh challenge
It's a special moment in the history of clean energy: the 30th anniversary World Solar Challenge has begun. A total of 42 solar-powered cars (the largest field to date) left Darwin, Australia on October 8th to travel roughly 1,880 miles to Adelaide. The race officially lasts a week, but it's likely going to end considerably sooner for the front-runners -- the world record holders, Tokai University, took just under 30 hours in 2009. As it is, technical hiccups knocked out several competitors in the first day of racing.
Solar power is the fastest growing source of global energy
Solar power was the fastest-growing source of global energy last year, overtaking growth from all other forms, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The spurt is largely attributed to lower prices and changing government policies encouraging a shift away from traditional power sources, such as coal. China, for example, has played an important role in renewable energy's prominence, accounting for almost half of all new solar panels installed worldwide.
A huge solar flare temporarily knocked out GPS communications
On the morning of 6 September the sun let out two pretty sizeable burps of radiation. Both were considered X-class -- the strongest type of solar flare -- with one of them proving to be the most powerful since 2005. If a solar flare is directed at Earth, which these ones were, it can generate a radiation storm that interferes with radio and GPS signals. The biggest flare ever recorded, in 2003, was so strong it even knocked out NASA's solar measurement equipment. These recent belches weren't quite on par with that, but they were enough to jam high frequency radios and interfere with GPS systems for about an hour on the side of the Earth facing the sun. Put your hand over your mouth, sun! Rude!
800,000 low-income UK homes to benefit from free solar panels
One of the biggest ever green energy schemes in the UK is set to provide clean energy for as many as 800,000 low-income homes over the next five years, renewable energy provider Solarplicity has revealed. As part of a £160 million investment from Netherlands-based Maas Capital (part of the ABN AMRO Bank), the company will provide 100,000 households with free solar panels over the next 18 months and hopes to reach its target within five years.
Stanford toughens up cheap solar cells by mimicking insect eyes
While silicon solar panels are already providing electricity for a lot of homes and buildings, it doesn't mean researchers have stopped looking for better and cheaper alternatives. Case in point, a team of Stanford scientists working to make a cheaper photovoltaic mineral called perovskite a viable option for people who want to shift to solar. Perovskites are as efficient as silicon solar cells when it comes to converting sunlight into energy, but they're fragile and can deteriorate easily when exposed to the elements. The team had to find a way to make them more durable -- and they've found inspiration in the compound eyes of insects.
Audi will use solar panels to help power its future EVs
When you think of electric vehicles, you probably imagine Tesla's Supercharger, or gas station-like centers where you go to top off the voltage. There's another idea, though, that makes a lot of sense: sun energy. AltaDevices, a subsidiary of Hanergy that makes thin, flexible solar panels, is working with Audi to bring the power of solar to your car's sunroof. The first prototype should be developed by the end of this year.
Tesla's 'Tiny House' roadshow demystifies its energy tech
Renewable energy is good for the planet, but it can be great for consumers -- depending on your location, you can actually make a profit using solar panels and backup battery storage. Those benefits can be hard for consumers to grok, however, so Tesla has launched the "Tiny House" tour in Australia with all of its latest technology in tow (literally).
IKEA’s selling home storage batteries for its solar panels
A rooftop of solar panels generating clean energy is great and all, but having somewhere to squirrel away that free juice is even better. After stepping into the shade for a good few months, IKEA began selling solar panels again last year with new teammate Solarcentury (a company that specialises in solar stuff). Today, the meatball-mad retailer is adding another piece of the off-grid puzzle to its shelves: A home storage battery.
Strong winds and clear skies help set UK renewable energy record
This week saw more milestones for renewable energy after the National Grid confirmed that power from green sources supplied more than half of UK energy for the first time. On Wednesday lunchtime, power from solar, wind, hydro and biomass accounted for 50.7 percent of energy production. In another UK first, nuclear, wind and solar each generated more electricity than coal and gas combined.
Mercedes-Benz and Vivint want to power your solar home
Tesla has been dominating home energy headlines in recent months, what with the release of its solar roof panels and residential batteries, but Elon Musk's company isn't the only one getting into the home energy game. Mercedez-Benz announced on Thursday that it is teaming with solar-energy company Vivint to develop an all-in-one solar/battery setup of its own.
Tesla ends SolarCity's door-to-door sales pitches
Tesla is used to selling cars online, but that's not how the recently acquired SolarCity liked to roll -- it preferred door-to-door sales pitches to get panels on your roof. Thankfully, you won't have anyone interrupting dinner going forward. Tesla has revealed that its solar energy division will stop those door-to-door sales in favor of internet and retail operations. It's what "most of our prospective customers prefer," the company says, and the other sales channels should more than make up for the loss. That will shake up jobs, but the roughly 1,000 people affected will either be moved to other sales methods or get a chance to interview for other positions at Tesla.
Tesla's app now reflects the company's move beyond cars
By merging Tesla and Solarcity, Elon Musk has sought about creating an "end-to-end clean energy" solution that starts in the home and extends onto the road. The idea is simple: harness solar energy via photovoltaic cell-embedded rooftop panels, store it in giant batteries and then pipe it into the home or an electric vehicle. As it stands, Musk's goal is on its way to being realized, but Tesla first needs to combine those individual components into one, and it's starting with software.
Coal company plans Kentucky's biggest solar farm for old mine site
Amid the decline of coal power, one fossil fuel company is refurbishing one of its old strip mining sites as a solar farm. Berkeley Energy Group is setting up two sites in eastern Kentucky as test locations to see if the concept is feasible. Early estimates peg the farm's production at 50 to 100 megawatts, which would yield five to ten times more electricity than the largest existing solar facility in the state.
Tesla's sleek solar panels are easier to install on your roof
Tesla's home energy efforts might be centered around its solar roofs, but it knows that not everyone can (or wants to) rip up their roof just to bring renewable energy to their home. To that end, the company is offering a first glimpse at Panasonic-made solar panels that would go on top of your existing roof. Unlike many aftermarket options, this would be relatively slick and unintrusive -- the panels have "integrated front skirts and no visible mounting hardware." While it'll be patently obvious that you have solar energy on your roof, it shouldn't be the eyesore you sometimes get with conventional designs.
Tesla starts taking solar roof orders next month
Compared to successfully launching a private rocketry business and an electric vehicle brand, Elon Musk's quest to line your roof with solar cells is a less flashy endeavor. He pitched it last August as Tesla's preamble in its eventually successful attempt to acquire SolarCity, a part of his greater goal to wean society off fossil fuel dependence. We haven't heard much else about it since. But in typical fashion for his announcements -- that is, in a tweet responding to a random question -- Musk told the world that folks can start placing orders for solar roofs in April.
German researchers built a molecule-splitting artificial sun
Scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are testing a novel way to generate hydrogen, a potential green energy source, by using a massive array of lights normally found in movie theaters.
Researchers break efficiency record for consumer-friendly solar panels
Turning sunlight into power is a surprisingly tricky thing. Experiments in academia have created solar arrays that can capture up to 40-percent of the sun's energy and convert it to electricity, but consumer cells are notably less efficient. At best, silicon-based technology has a theoretical 29-percent efficiency ceiling -- meaning any consumer panel in the low 20s is doing pretty well. Still, we're inching ever closer to the technology's limit. Researchers at Kaneko corp recently announced that they've developed a silicon solar cell with a record-breaking 26.3 percent efficiency rating.
SolSol's baseball hat can charge your phone using solar power
Solar technology is still far from becoming ordinary, but we're seeing more and more of it make its way to consumer products. And now that includes hats. SolSol, a startup from Los Angeles, made a baseball cap that has a small solar panel built into its brim. You can use it to charge your smartphone, tablet or any other device that needs to be plugged in via USB. It looks kind of odd to have a cable hanging down from your head, but the hat could come in handy if your gadget's battery is running low and there are no other outlets nearby.
After Math: Keep pace in the space race
It's been a productive week for those of us trying to get the hell off this crazy planet. NASA showed off a radiation-proof flight vest for interplanetary astronauts while Blue Origin debuted its latest rocket engine and previewed its upcoming New Glenn spacecraft. We also take a look at a solar farm visible from the ISS and examine just how badly the Trump regime is gutting NASA's Earth Science programs. Numbers, because how else will we know when it's time to blast off?
