Smart windows contain heat-blocking nanocrystals
AUG 16, 2013
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027269
NPR : Windows that let light pass through but block the heat could help cut lighting and air conditioning costs. “In the US, we spend about a quarter of our total energy on lighting, heating and cooling our buildings,” said Delia Milliron , a chemist at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry who led the research into a new kind of glass. According to the group’s paper published in Nature, the researchers have designed an electrochromic material composed of nanocrystals of indium tin oxide embedded in niobium oxide glass. By varying an electrochemical voltage applied to the material, the researchers can block either the Sun’s heat or its light, or both. Because indium costs about $250 per pound, however, the researchers need to find cheaper materials to make such smart windows cost-competitive.
© 2013 American Institute of Physics
