Solar Power Windows: A Look Into the Future
Solar power is a growing industry that will continue developing in the future. Solar Power Windows is the next step into that future. While companies are and will keep experimenting with solar-powered window panels for years, there is news. Companies now attempt to create both see-through solar power windows and opaque solar windows.
Why Solar Windows?
According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, previous methods at see-through windows reported only 1% efficiency. At the same time, opaque windows report at 20%. Luckily, several companies are working hard to develop a new concept that will promise maximum efficiency and provide a traditional window look while allowing light in.The new solar window concept looks past traditional and familiar solar methods widely used in rooftop installation. The new process involves using a liquid photovoltaic conductor painted onto all the window panes. Like in the case of a skyscraper, the paint is applied to all of the windows and used to create maximum efficiency spread out throughout all windows combined, rather than looking at each window's performance. Another very similar method is to apply a film, rather than a paint, which still allows 90% of light to stream through the window, while the film absorbs solar power from the light as it passes through.
Standard rooftop systems work in a very different manner. Instead of having the panels spread out over the roof's entire surface, there are a few panels in a very congested area. The new solar window method takes a very different approach, working away from conventional methods, and maximizes spread for more efficient solar power accumulation.
These concepts are still in the finishing stages, and we will likely see them later in 2018. So, are Solar Windows the Future?