Smart Windows: Energy Efficiency with a View
NREL research scientist Dane Gillaspie holds a sample of an electrochromic, or color-changing, window inside an accelerated weathering chamber at the Field Test Laboratory Building. Prototype windows are subjected to extreme simulated conditions to determine their performance and durability. Refresh your browser to see the glass change color from clear to opaque and back.
NEMA’s got the story here.
The product pictured is Sage Electrochromic glass, and even in its darkened state, it is always transparent ( never opaque.) Sage is an IGU that can change its visible transmission from 62% to 1.9% and vary its Solar Heat Gain Coefficient from .48 to .09, while always remaining transparent, like darkened limo glass. A west facing window, for example, can behave differently in the summer and winter, always allowing views, but harvesting the sun’s heat in the winter and shedding it in the summer. In particular, Sage has excellent durability, unlike its organic competitors, it is made of inorganic layers of microscopic metal particles and offers an excellent warranty. ASTM testing proves it can withstand punishing circumstances with no degradation. The dark state only stays dark for the few hours needed and then returns to the light state.
This is really going to be a very unique energy tool. In states like Arizona, it could lessen one’s heating/cooling bills by 35%.
Please send more information on these smart windows.