Solar panels perform better when listening to music

The sound vibrations that make up music can make solar panels work harder, according to new research, and pop music performs better than classical. Scientists showed that high pitched sounds like those common in pop and rock music caused the greatest improvement in the solar cells' power output, increasing it by up to forty per cent. Classical music, with typically lower pitched sounds, still increased the cells' output, but not as much. This discovery makes it possible to power a wider range devices with solar energy than at present, as scientists can improve the efficiency of solar cells using the ambient, or background, noise present in many environments. The study is published today by researchers at Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London, in the journal Advanced Materials. They found that sound levels as low as 75 decibels (equivalent to a typical roadside noise or a printer in an office) could significantly improve the performance of the solar cells tested in the study. Practical uses for this discovery could include solar powered air conditioning units, laptop computers or electronic components on buses, trains and other vehicles.