Controlling the amount of light that is allowed to come through a window or a glass pane has become an environmental issue in the last couple of years. Allowing warmth to enter a house during the winter and shutting it out during the summer is one of the most energy efficient ways to stay environmentally friendly. Previously this was achieved by using electric Chromic glass, but this newly developed light controlling glass is a much more efficient way to keep temperatures down.
The disadvantages with Chromic glass have always been that the current within it slowly heats up the glass which makes the excess heat build up in a room. That is prevented with a new light controlling glass recently unveiled by AIST. The glass switches between a mirrored and transparent mode which reflects light away or through the glass. Not only is this approach much more efficient when it comes to blocking out heat and letting it through, but the time switching from mirrored mode to transparent (and vice versa) is also a whole lot faster.
Usually a Chromic glass mode switch takes about 30 seconds or more depending on the size of the glass pane itself. With this new mirrored light controlling glass approach, the time it takes to convert is cut down to just 5 seconds. This could make for a huge change in how our windows permit light to go through them or not. The evolution of light controlling glass is vital if we are to further decrease the planet’s pollution.
This system uses hydrogen instead of electricity, which makes it a whole lot more environmentally friendly and efficient. When this glass will be commercially available is not known yet. AIST is trying their best to further improve the switch speed between the two modes and to make it allow 70% of the light or more to pass through the glass when it is in its transparent mode (which is a requirement in order for it to be called a window). So for everyone who has been craving a science fiction styled window, this may very well be right around the corner for all of us.