science

Renewable energy breakthrough: 'Remarkable' device generates electricity under night skies


The incredible device does not need the warmth of sunlight or the movement of turbines to generate renewable energy. Instead, the device uses the cooling of ground surfaces at night to produce electricity at times when solar panels are ineffective. The device, developed at the University of California, Los Angeles, could be deployed to remote areas without access to power grids or other renewable alternatives. Researchers presented the power source on September 12 in the journal Joule.

Assistant Professor Aaswath Raman, the lead author of the study, said: “Remarkably, the device is able to generate electricity at night, when solar cells don’t work.

“Beyond lighting, we believe this could be a broadly enabling approach to power generation suitable for remote locations and anywhere where power generation at night is needed.”

The need for cost-effective renewable energy is at the forefront of current climate discussions.

The United Nations, for instance, has called for more widespread access to “clean fuel and technology” that can help fight back the effects of .

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Solar panels are among the most efficient sources of renewable power, used to power buildings on Earth and in space.

But solar panels are ineffective at night and in places where sunlight is sparse.

The University of California-built devise has taken a completely different approach to the problem by sticking close to the ground.

At night, the ground radiates heat back into the atmosphere in an effect known as radiative cooling.

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The cooling explains why grass is often covered in frost early in the morning even if temperatures are above freezing.

A prototype of the device drew the escaping heat from the air and converted it to as much as 25 milliwatts of energy per square metre.

In their study, the researches wrote: “In this report, we demonstrate a low-cost, modular mechanism of renewably generating meaningful amounts of electricity at night by harnessing the cold darkness of space.

“We use a passive cooling mechanism known as radiative sky cooling to maintain the cold side of a thermoelectric generator several degrees below ambient.

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“The surrounding air heats the warm side of the thermoelectric generator, with the ensuing temperature difference converted into usable electricity.”

According to Professor Raman, the generator was built using off-the-shelf parts making it both cheap to assemble and easy to scale.

The amount of energy currently generated by the prototype is small compared to other renewable alternatives.

But the researches are positive the results do not represent the full potential of the technology.

In their study, the researches noted certain areas of the radiator can be “optimised” for “improved performance”.

Professor Raman said: “Our work highlights the many remaining opportunities for energy by taking advantage of the cold of outer space as a renewable energy resource.

“We think this forms the basis of complementary technology to solar.

“While the power output will always be substantially lower, it can operate when solar cells cannot.”



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