Re:Caffeine Cranks Up Solar Cells
by RenRav on Thursday May 02, 2019 @09:38AM
(#19807753)
So an immediate increase in the efficiency and significantly improved longevity over time... doesn't this basically multiply the panels effectiveness as time goes on? That's incredible this gain could come from caffeine
[ Parent
| on HN ]
I think improved longevity over time is relative to non-caffeinated solar cells, caffeinated solar cells last longer (they don't improve over time)
It looks like about a 13x longevity improvement over the tested timespan, which is absolutely nuts.
It's specific to perovskite solar cells, though, which aren't in commercial use because their lifespans are so short. They're one of the 'holy grail' high-efficiency technologies like magnesium batteries, so a 13x increase in lifespan is at once hugely important and not enough to make them realistic.
TFA doesn't show die-off, though. The graph just shows "after 1300 hours at 85C, still producing at 86% output". The slope doesn't imply a drop right after (but of course who knows).
Good point, thanks.
My assumption was that since the slope looks fairly flat, this was still a nonstarter for most applications - 86% after 2 months is good progress, but commercial standards are 80% after 20 years. Even so, it's a big step up from the material's past of failing outright after short spans.