If the phrase “solar panels” crops up in a conversation perhaps with your next door neighbor who is considering having them installed you immediately think of such panels being placed on top of his or her roof. Alternatively, you may imagine a part of your neighbour’s garden being taken up by ground mounted solar panels.
There are some people who think that such panels look rather unsightly which is one reason why some decide not to have them installed even though they could save on energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.
However, if a team of research staff at Michigan State University in the United States of America have their way we may be seeing people making use of solar energy without the need to install such solar panel units. This is because transparent panels have been developed at the university.
We have previously written about new built properties in the likes of Australia having solar panel windows incorporated into the construction process but these colourless panels could be put onto glass windows. Organic molecules are utilized to absorb sunlight that is then made into electricity.
Can you imagine the potential usage of such panels? Not only could they be used on residential properties but just think of all those skyscraper office buildings that were made using the likes of thousands of glass panels. At the moment, the transparent panels are still in the development stage as they need to be made more efficient but we are sure that you will agree the above does sound very promising.
It will be interesting to monitor this research over the coming months and years. We wonder what impact it may have on the traditionally manufactured solar photovoltaic panels.
As always, we welcome your comments so do feel free to have your say.
