
Home building pros are familiar with special window coatings that save energy, but a Columbia, Md.-based manufacturer is taking that concept a step further with commercial window film that generates power.
SolarWindow's transparent, flexible veneer can be applied directly onto existing windows. Its nearly invisible microgrid wires as thin as human hair generate electricity and are being used on tall commercial buildings such as skyscrapers. SolarWindow modeling shows that modules achieve the industry’s fastest published financial payback of less than one year as validated by a team of independent engineers and at the University of North Carolina Charlotte Energy Production and Infrastructure Center.
“Our previous system was widely acknowledged as a technical breakthrough. However, we’ve always wanted to push the boundaries, and have now done so with wires as thin as human hair. Moving forward, our technology team has vowed to attempt even finer wiring grids in order to help them eventually disappear to the human eye,” says John A. Conklin, President and CEO of SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.
This expanded product line broadens the company’s market reach beyond new and replacement installations, to include windows currently installed on the estimated 5 million commercial buildings constructed in the U.S. alone. Engineers envision installing SolarWindow products on all four sides of tall towers, generating electricity using natural, shaded, and even artificial light.