Chinese scientists develop revolutionary “smart window”

Window both reflects heat and generates electricity.

Scientists in China said they had designed a smart window that can both save and generate energy. Existing smart windows are limited to regulating light and heat from the sun but allow a lot of potential energy to escape. The Chinese Academy of Sciences said it has developed a concept smart window device for the simultaneous generation and saving of energy.

The Chinese discovered that a material called vanadium oxide or VO2 can be used as a transparent coating to regulate infrared radiation from the sun. VO2 changes its properties based on temperature. VO2 is insulating below a certain temperature and lets in infrared light.

At another temperature, however, VO2 becomes reflective. A window using VO2 both regulates the amount of sun energy entering a building and delivers light to solar cells placed around its glass panels. The electricity produced can generate enough energy to light a lamp. The academy said this smart window combines energy saving and generation in one device, and offers potential to intelligently regulate and utilize solar radiation in an efficient manner.