02.15.2007 - Researchers convert heat to electricity using organic molecules, could lead to new energy source. UC Berkeley Press Release Researchers convert heat to electricity using organic molecules, could lead to new energy source By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | 15 February 2007 BERKELEY – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully generated electricity from heat by trapping organic molecules between metal nanoparticles, an achievement that could pave the way toward the development of a new source for energy.
The discovery, described in a study published today (Thursday, Feb. 15) in Science Express, an electronic publication of the journal Science, is a milestone in the quest for efficient ways to directly convert heat into electricity. Currently, the dominant method of power generation involves burning fossil fuels to create heat, often in the form of steam, to spin a turbine that, in turn, drives a generator that produces electricity.
Cheap Ways to Get Solar Panels for Your House - Technology. Solar panels are a good investment, but the start-up costs can be prohibitive.
Here are some ways to get your solar panels for free. So you want to supplement—or perhaps even replace—your electrical grid power consumption with rooftop solar panels, but you don't want to pay thousands of dollars for a solar panel kit. There are, fortunately, a number of cheaper solar power options available—if you know where to look. One popular solar purchasing model that has sprung up in recent years is the group purchase, which operates on the idea that everything is cheaper when bought in bulk. San Francisco-based startup One Block Off the Grid offers city-based collective purchasing for solar panels. UW Engineering - Increasing Efficiency of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells. A new approach is able to create a dramatic improvement in cheap solar cells now being developed in laboratories.
By using a popcorn-ball design—tiny kernels clumped into much larger porous spheres—researchers at the University of Washington are able to manipulate light and more than double the efficiency of converting solar energy to electricity. The findings will be presented today in New Orleans at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. "We think this can lead to a significant breakthrough in dye-sensitized solar cells," said lead author Guozhong Cao, a UW professor of materials science and engineering.
Dye-sensitized solar cells, first popularized in a scientific article in 1991, are more flexible, easier to manufacture and cheaper than existing solar technologies. Researchers have tried various rough surfaces and achieved higher and higher efficiencies.