Power-Generating Smart Energy Glass is Good News for Solar
There is a new form of glass that is going to make a big difference in the amount of interest that people are taking in solar energy. It's a type of glass that collects solar energy and then uses it to generate power. This provides a great method of obtaining solar power for homes and other buildings. It's also an attractive solar power option in a sea of options that are typically not considered aesthetically appealing.
Smart Energy Glass is a product that has been developed by a Dutch company called Peer +. The product is an organic-based coating that can be placed over glass windows. There are several different shades of color available but more importantly there are three different levels of opaqueness for the product. You can choose to set the windows to be totally dark, very bright or somewhere in between. This alters the amount of solar power that is collected and also gives you control over how much privacy you want from your home windows.
One of the most exciting things about this new type of Smart Energy Glass is that it takes solar power that has previously been wasted and turns it into useful energy. Most windows reflect sunlight, sending it off into the air without making any use out of it. These new windows actually take that sunlight and turn it into energy. Homeowners don't have to do anything differently than they've been doing with their windows and yet they end up collecting energy for their homes using this product.
Another reason that this Smart Energy Glass is a great move forward for solar energy is that it allows for an aesthetically pleasing method of gathering solar power. The windows look just like normal windows and aren't going to alter the appearance of your home in any drastic way. This contrasts with other forms of solar power, such as solar panels for your roof, which many people think are important but also consider ugly. Consumers seek a balance between renewable resources and aesthetics when it comes to both homes and public buildings. Smart Energy Glass helps to strike that balance which will aid in moving solar power adoption forward.
Source: http://www.odemagazine.com/exchange/14891/smart_energy_glass_turns_windows_into_energy_generators
Publish Date: 2010-03-30 10:51:48
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