Isn’t it lovely when the sun shines through the window? Except when it’s too warm and bright inside.
Instead of letting down the blinds or turning up the air-con, perhaps we’ll soon have another option.
Inspired by the technology that brought us automatically tinting eyeglasses, a team of researchers has begun developing the concept of the smart window.
In a departure from an earlier prototype, the window can switch color from transparent to yellow, orange, red and brown, all in around seven seconds.
The change in color blocks the light to differing degrees, cooling the room down in the process.
That’s not all, however: wedged between the two panes of window glass is a thin film of solar cells which simultaneously generates energy.
A chance to shade the renewable energies’ win.
