A team of American Scientists claim that the efficiency of solar panels could increase tenfold with a new method of capturing the energy from the Sun.

The technique involves ‘painting’ glass with a mix of transparent, organic dyes which collect the income light and transport it towards the frame of the glass where photovoltaic cells convert it electricity.  Any light that makes it through the glass can be picked up by another set of solar cells behind the glass.

Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say that the technology could be used to convert glass buildings into vast energy plants, potentially generating all their own electricity.

What’s more, the team say that the system is simple to manufacture and could be implemented within three years!

The graphic below shows how the system works.

Via BBC & Telegraph