Articles

We’re always chasing better performing and more efficient solar panels to help power our renewable energy future, but no matter how efficient a panel is there are location-based impacts to performance. Solutions like solar trackers can help to overcome some of these issues, but they’re usually not worth it in most cases. Instead of creating more efficient solar cells or tracking the sun, a research team at Stanford has boosted photovoltaic efficiency, even on cloudy days, by concentrating the light that reaches the solar cells without any moving parts. Is improving solar generation really that simple? Let’s see if we can come to a decision on this.

We talk a lot about energy storage, but usually in the form of electricity storage. But a large percentage of the energy used around the world is for heating and cooling. And while storing energy in batteries, to then use to heat your home, has proved valuable, what if we just stored the heat directly? That’s what this Finnish company believes they’ve done with their groundbreaking sand battery! Breakthrough Tech Heats Homes Cheaper Than Natural Gas!

In the past, power generating plants were only able to serve their local areas. As power plants grew larger and further away from populated areas, the need for ways to efficiently move electricity over long distances has become more and more important. Stringing power lines across the landscape to connect cities to power plants may seem as simple as connecting an extension cord to an outlet, but the engineering behind these electric superhighways is more complicated and fascinating than you might think.