Invisible Blinds Selectively Let In Light
Japanese researchers have developed a transparent sheet that lets in less sunlight in the summer and more in the winter.
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd have developed a transparent sheet that lets in less sunlight in the summer and more in the winter. The power-saving sheet is attached to a window and reduces the amount of power consumed by an air conditioner or a heater.
Tech-On! reports that the sheet, which doesn’t change the view through the window, blocks sunlight during daylight hours in the summer and allows sunlight in winter to pass through due to its small incidence angle.
AIST found that the glass could be developed by using the total reflection phenomenon on the surface of a transparent material. They also created a ray-tracing program for analyzing the reflection and transmission of sunlight.
There are plans to commercialize the sheet in the next 2-3 years. It will be exhibited at the 2013 Automotive Engineering Exposition from May 22nd to 24th in Yokohama City, Japan.