If I have one complaint about my iPhone it’s that I am always worried about running out of power. I go nowhere without my charger so that I can power up whenever possible.

I think we can all agree that any remedy to get a longer lasting charge would be a good thing. You can image my delight when I learned that researchers at UCLA are working a new way to use solar energy for our smartphones. They have developed a two-layer, see-through solar film that one day can be placed on the glass window of our smartphones to harvest energy from the sun.

In fact, the film is so strong that it will be able to work on any glass surface.

UCLA explains:

“The thin device uses two polymer solar cells to collect sunlight and then converts it into useable power.”

The film has the potential to be used on every surface that has a window. Imagine using this film for your home, the sunroof of your car, and all mobile devices. The researchers also explained they can produce twice the energy using two layers of film on glass than previously achieved with just one cell in a solar panel.

“A single cell device is only capable of capturing 40 percent of the infrared light that passes through it. The new two-layer device is able to absorb up to 80 percent of the infrared light that passes through it as well as some of the available visible light thanks in part to an infrared-sensitive polymer on the film.”

MIT and other schools are working on this technology as well. I sure hope this happens soon. It would be nice to be a part of this development.

I don’t know anyone living in a solar-powered home but I would love to know more about the pros and cons.