Simultaneous subambient daytime radiative cooling and photovoltaic power generation from the same area

Daytime radiative cooling to below ambient air temperature relies on radiating heat while reflecting most sunlight. Thus, subambient daytime radiative cooling has been largely incompatible with solar energy harvesting. Despite the great theoretical potential of coharvesting the cold universe and the sun as renewable resources, subambient daytime radiative cooling and significant solar power generation have not been achieved simultaneously. Here, we introduce and demonstrate simultaneous subambient daytime radiative cooling and photovoltaic power generation from the same area. Outdoor experiments show that the radiative cooler reaches 5.1°C below the ambient temperature under ∼1,000 W/m² sunlight, and the photovoltaic cell produces 159.9 W/m² simultaneously and from the same area. The radiative cooling power at ambient temperature is measured to be 63.8 W/m² under peak sunlight and 87.0 W/m² at night. The results highlight the great potential of simultaneous radiative cooling and sunlight harvesting for renewable energy.