Electricity generation using quantum dots in glass

https://mlsystem.pl/electricity-from-the-glass-energy-revolution-with-the-use-of-quantum-dots/?lang=en

by danielam • 6 years ago

41 28 6 years ago

jbob20004• 6 years ago

What if it costs more electricity to produce this glass than it will ever produce in its entire lifespan? Does it make sense to produce the glass if that's the case?

Valgrim• 6 years ago

That depends. If the cost of production can be reduced with mass production, or the efficiency increased, so that it becomes energy positive, if the energy source required to make these windows is variable, for example by using any thermal energy source, or if it displaces the energy required to make normal windows, it's worth continuing to research in that direction.

Tade0• 6 years ago

Unlikely. Quantum dots are currently manufactured at scale and solar panels based on them reach decent efficiencies.

That being said they can't beat regular crystalline silicon solar cells on cost. Their major advantage is that they can be made transparent and lend themselves for usage in multi-junction solar cells.

yohannparis2• 6 years ago

It depends if the glass was produced with low carbon emissions (Nuclear, renewables) and avoid final users to use less coal power plants.

adrianN• 6 years ago

There are probably better ways of exporting energy than making glass.

blacksmith_tb• 6 years ago

Yes, though solar furnaces are possible. If we are talking about windows that would be manufactured with or without quantum dots, then likely the added energy needed for the quantum dots will still be recouped in their operating lifetime.

robomartin• 6 years ago

What if it costs more electricity to produce this glass than it will ever produce in its entire lifespan?

Fair question. This was precisely the problem with early solar cells. I think one has to take a multi-decade view on some of these things. If the science tells us we can improve the technology within a reasonable time horizon and achieve positive ROI, then it makes sense. Otherwise it is a bad idea.

Side note: We don't want UV light inside buildings. If this kind of glass makes economic sense and it can filter out UV light while producing some electricity, it is a win-win. I believe nearly all glass used in large buildings has UV cut coatings/treatment. If the cost is comparable this could be a viable substitute. The problem, of course, is that this might not be viable as a retrofit but rather something you would include in new designs (you need a new electrical design for the building in order to connect all glass to the grid).

husam212• 6 years ago

Non-rechargable batteries costs more electricity than they'll ever produce in their lifespan, and producing them makes sense.

jbob20004• 6 years ago

That's different. Those are used in places where having a cord to a power source is impossible or impractical, so we accept the trade-off.

But if my assumption is true, you might burn a bunch of coal to make these windows, and then never offset that energy use (because the windows break/stop working after X years).

ianai• 6 years ago

Glass is very rarely replaced and is exposed to 100% of the sunlight that will be around during its installation life time - shaded or not. That’s going to add up to considerable energy regardless of input cost.

jbob20004• 6 years ago

Glass, sure, but what about these quantum dots? LED light bulbs were supposed to last 25 years, but everyone I know that has these replaces them well under that time frame.

mceachen• 6 years ago

Are windows in some part of the world optimally oriented towards solar radiation? Most residential windows in the US are shaded by awnings or face completely away from the path of the sun. It seems like only multi-story glass-clad buildings would be moderately relevant for this technology, and refacing, say, the Salesforce tower seems like it would be prohibitively expensive to make sense from an roi perspective.

nebalee• 6 years ago

Greenhouses maybe. Those are usually constructed in a way to get the most out of the incoming sunlight, right?

JoeAltmaier• 6 years ago

Fluff? Where are the 'current per square meter' stats? They claim 'half your electricity from windows' but where's the data?

My windows are not in direct sunlight most of the day and all of the night. Most are never - on the north side, east side, west side.

All of them are never optimally directed at the sun even when fully illuminated.

The opportunity to generate power from accidental/incidental sources is very limited. Its always better to plan a real power installation with all the factors considered. 10x to 100x better.

londons_explore• 6 years ago

The only way this might make sense is if the added cost of quantum dots in a window is tiny.

MR4D• 6 years ago

Not sure what this means dollar-wise, but accord o e article,

“Both – quantum dots ad perovskites can be easily placed on the surfaces and have comparable costs of production”

Not sure what perovskites cost, but that should give you your answer (or a way to figure it out).

NiceWayToDoIT• 6 years ago

What about stability and longevity, since the first breakthrough 10 years ago various teams were struggling to make them work in solar cells as quantum dots are chemically unstable under oxidizing conditions and undergo photo corrosion reactions?

anesmike• 6 years ago

It all boils down to: what is the energy return on energy invested .

Jemm• 6 years ago

So many near sighted comments.

Many buildings have little space for solar panels. Most building need to reglaze every thirty years. Many building have no optimally oriented glass.

This does not mean that PV Glass is worthless. If efficiency and cost work out then there may we’ll be a place for PV glass.

fuzzfactor• 6 years ago

Not my field of natural science but I saw a very bright future for this a decade ago.

Quite promising equations.

Electricity generation using quantum dots in glass

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