New smart glass will be able to provide themselves with energy
A group of scientists from Princeton University have developed a new technology to produce “smart” glass that can change its transparency depending on the brightness of the light.
The resulting material can work due to absorbed glass solar energy. About the work of scientists reported in the journal Nature Energy.
Smart glass is intended to reduce the cost of heating and cooling by changing the amount of energy that they miss and absorb. The existing technology of “smart” glasses require electricity, and they are difficult to install in buildings where it was not planned in advance.
Proposed by scientists from Princeton glass works by absorbed light near ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
“The use of near ultraviolet radiation to power these glasses means that solar cells can be transparent, to occupy the same area as conventional glass, without introducing restrictions on the design and appearance of Windows. Usually solar panels are made from silicon and they are black, because it absorb all visible light and infrared radiation, so they are not suitable for Windows”, — said one of the authors of the work, the engineer from Princeton University Yue-Ling Lou.
“Wireless “smart” coatings can be pasted with the inner side of the glass in the house or apartment. Then you can control the amount of sunlight that enters the room using the app on your phone that will increase the energy efficiency, will make your stay more comfortable and will protect privacy,” commented co-author and colleague Lou Nicholas Davy.