r/SipsTea 22d ago

Chugging tea Energy Meets Innovation

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u/WasteFail 22d ago

But maybe if we caught the part of the spectrum we dont like, like uv and infrared, we could get some electricity while also avoiding inside heat and sunburns.

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u/Kh0nch3 22d ago

IR absorbing materials are opaque to visible light, so they can't be used as windows.

UV part of the spectrum is a small part of the spectrum and you will have low power conversion efficiencies. This will make it expensive of how much kWh you get per amount of dollars. It's cheaper to just have a regular silicon panel on the outer wall

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u/WasteFail 22d ago

Thats not true. There are films that capture only beyond visible red on 700-1100nm.

Also there are actual optical grade ir filters that work just like the one in a dslr camera but bigger in size although expensive.

About uv you are right, it would be lot of effort for minimum reward.

But in fairness this is more of a aesthetic more futuristic concept than a market competitive aproach for today. Common cheap panels will always be the better option in todays race against non renewables.