A new antireflective coating developed by researchers at Rensselaer

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered, developed, and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy. By developing a new anti-reflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels by 96% efficiency AND allowing those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle, the research team has moved academia and industry closer to realizing high-efficiency, cost-effective solar power.

Solar panels convert the most light into electricity when the sun shines directly on them. Untreated silicon solar cells absorb only 67.4% of sunlight and as soon as it wanes, so does efficiency. Meaning that nearly one-third (at peak) of that sunlight is reflected away and thus unharvestable. (more…)

The U.S. Department of Energy says you are paying about $100.00 a year for nothing and the EPA estimates that this nothing consumes $4 billion worth of power each year. Equivalent to the power generated by 12 power plants.

This energy Black Hole is the total of all those appliances that still draw power even when the power buttons are switched “off”. The average house hold has between 20-25 of these appliances that have electronic controls or smart features that still pull energy while “playing possum.” (more…)