Windows to the Future

Rising temperatures result in an increasing demand for air-conditioning, both in traditionally warm locales and in usually cooler climates, such as in The Netherlands. Besides air-conditioning for climate control, sun-shading measures are also applied in order to keep solar glare out of buildings. These are not universally applicable (e.g. high-rise buildings), require additional maintenance, and result in a loss of contact with the outside world that can lead to a feeling of “containment” and limit well-being.

A promising solution to these challenges comes in the form of electrochromic glass, where the optical properties of the glass change (tinting) upon the application of a low voltage in order to realise HVAC energy savings and improve user comfort. This technology can accommodate uninterrupted contact with the outside world, as well as precise control of solar heat gain and glare in a space, but it currently extremely expensive in the real world due to high manufacturing costs.

Brite Solar has developed its own proprietary production process for electrochromic glass by means of low-cost and highly precise ink-jet printing, allowing for major price reductions and thus attractive economic prospects for use in a much wider range of buildings.

In the Green Village, Brite’s electrochromic glass will be demonstrated – in cooperation with its partners TU Delft and Si-X – in a typical office building environment in order to: (i) quantify the possible energy savings under Dutch conditions; (ii) investigate user perceptions and experiences upon long-term contact with the product; (iii) explore the viability of the overall business case for the end users, based on the collected information.