Recycling Light With The Photon Loop
When you think about solar panels, your first thoughts will probably be somewhere on a scale from “What’s that? It sounds very science-y” to “I know what those are. I even have a company that makes cities out of those.” I’m guessing that what you’re thinking right now probably isn’t anywhere near “Hmm, what if we had those inside, away from the sun?” However, maybe it should be, because indoor solar panels can aid us in the fight against climate change.
Solar panels are not actually dependent on solar radiation or heat. They get energy from light, any form of it. This means that if you shine a flashlight at a solar panel, or use a series of mirrors to reflect light from a campfire onto it, it’ll still be able to convert that energy to electricity. Imagine if we could use and then reuse this electricity to power most of the electronics that we use in our daily lives, like the computer that I’m writing this on, and the device you’re reading it on. A continuous loop of clean, reusable energy. When you really think about it, the vast majority of the light the sun produces isn’t visible, or usable, from Earth. The atmosphere filters most of it out, but if the solar panels were inside, you could get light that’s practically unfiltered. Then we could be able to get more of our energy from renewable and clean sources and less from fossil fuels that damage the environment.
Why would I have solar panels inside?
The process is fairly simple, but unexpected. If you had solar panels inside of a house, then it could absorb light from artificial light sources, such as light bulbs and TVs, and then reuse some of that energy, reducing how much you have to use. The solar panels would absorb light from the artificial light sources, which could be turned into electricity, and the electricity would be used to power those artificial light sources.
You’re essentially recycling the energy so that it can be used over and over again, making it last for much longer, creating a loop where the photons produce energy and use that energy to make more photons, which is where I got the name of this project. If a little bit of energy lasts for longer, that means that you probably won’t need as much in the first place. And if you’re not using as much energy, that means that you’re having a smaller effect on the environment. Of course, some of the light emitted won’t hit the solar panels, but you can put them in the right spot so that they can get a sizable portion of the light, it can still make a big difference.
Where could this be used?
While it could be useful to have solar panels in a house, most of us are too responsible to leave the lights on all the time. How useful the Photon Loop technology will be is proportional to how often the lights are on. Every major city has hospitals, factories that are run 24/7 and airports. These places must be well lit and depend on electricity continuously. This draw on our resources can be diminished, along with high electricity costs. And if you think about the electric bills that places like that would have, you’ll see that not only is light getting wasted, but also money. Those are the kinds of places where having solar panels would make the most impact.
Conclusion
The fields of clean energy and solar power are always evolving. As this technology is refined, more small scale and broader applications will be possible. It just might make all the difference when it comes to saving power, and that can make all the difference in saving our world. I hope that you will take my advice, and see the light.
