A block of modern flats Credit: Mikes-Photography
A block of modern flats Credit: Mikes-Photography - Researchers at the University of Oxford have collaborated with industry experts to develop an adaptable smart window technology that could reduce the energy usage of an average home by up to a third. The new glass has a spectrally tuneable low-emissivity coating that uses a phase change material to control the amount of heat that comes into the room from the window, without affecting the quality of the light. The thermal energy from the sun's infrared rays is absorbed by the glass and re-emitted as heat - either used to warm the room using transparent electrical heaters in the glass substrate or reflected away to cool the room. Dr Nathan Youngblood, formerly at Oxford and now at the University of Pittsburgh, said: 'These windows can change according to seasonal needs. 'They absorb near-infrared light from the sun in the winter and turn it into heat for the inside of a building. In the summer months, the sun can be reflected instead of absorbed.' Working as part of the Wearable and Flexible Technologies Collaboration (WAFT), the project team proposed the heat-activated coating that could 'switch' in line with heating, cooling, and lighting demands. The team built a prototype with an active chalcogenide-based phase change material so the new glass can adapt to the temperature, to save energy.
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