Nighttime Electrical Power Generation via Radiative Cooling

Stanford researchers have designed a power generation system capable of working at off-grid and at night when solar cells are not effective. By combining a thermoelectric generator with radiative cooling, this system can generate nighttime power density over 2 W/m2, outperforming wind and radio frequency energy harvesting. The thermoelectric generator component represents less than 1% of the system footprint area, making this an economically accessible platform.

Stage of Research