this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2026
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It is not exactly solar nor moon light, but there has been some experimentation with radiative cooling, which allows solar panels, with attached thermoelectric generators, to convert the night sky into a power source, but it is in the milliWatt range for now
See this paper for reference: "Nighttime electric power generation at a density of 350 mW/m² via radiative cooling"
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00676-3
So, less than a square metre of our planet's surface is radiating enough energy to power a 4W led bulb? Not bad, actually!
Yeah. It’s not gonna power your house but is pretty promising for remote sensors and stuff.