World News

Industry news and insights from Europe and around the World

UK News

Latest news and developments in the United Kingdom

Products

Keep up-to-date with the latest new products and technology

Features

General articles, applications and industry analysis

Shade switching glass could reduce ac use

USA: A team of researchers at MIT has developed a new window that can switch from transparent to opaque, potentially saving energy by reducing the need for air conditioning.

While other systems for causing glass to darken do exist, the new method is said to offer significant advantages by combining rapid response times and a low power requirement. Once the glass is switched from clear to dark, or vice versa, the new system requires little to no power to maintain its new state. Unlike other materials, it only needs electricity when it’s time to switch back again.

The new discovery uses electrochromic materials, which change their colour and transparency in response to an applied voltage.

According to the researchers, current photochromic materials, such as those found in some eyeglasses, tend to have much slower response times and to undergo a smaller change in their levels of opacity.

MIT-electrochromic

The reason for the slowness is that the changes within the material rely on a movement of electrons — an electric current — that gives the whole window a negative charge. Positive ions then move through the material to restore the electrical balance, creating the colour-changing effect. But while electrons flow rapidly through materials, ions move much more slowly, limiting the overall reaction speed.

The MIT team claims to have overcome this by using sponge-like materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which can conduct both electrons and ions at very high speeds. Such materials are said to have been used for about 20 years for their ability to store gases within their structure, but the MIT team was the first to harness them for their electrical and optical properties.

It’s also not possible to get existing self-shading materials to turn from transparent to completely black. In this latest work the researchers have achieved a coating that can go all the way from perfectly clear to nearly black. This is achieved by blending two complementary colours, green and red.

“These could lead to pretty significant energy savings by drastically reducing the need for air conditioning in buildings with many windows in hot climates,” MIT professor of chemistry Mircea Dincă said of the new discovery.

“You could just flip a switch when the sun shines through the window, and turn it dark, or even automatically make that whole side of the building go dark all at once,” he says.

Latest News

29th March 2024

BUS applications up 75% in February

UK: Applications for grants under the UK government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) in February were 75% higher than during the same month last year, new statistics reveal.
29th March 2024

EBM-Papst opens new Chinese HQ

CHINA: German fans and motors manufacturer EBM-Papst has established a new 33,000m² local headquarters in China, bringing together the company’s previous four locations in Shanghai.
28th March 2024

Hudson warns of unsafe US recovery cylinders

USA: The US refrigerant supplier and reclaimer Hudson Technologies has warned of illegal and unsafe recovery cylinders entering the US market.
28th March 2024

Topical talks at Bath breakfast meeting

UK: The next South West South Wales Refrigeration Society breakfast briefing will feature talks from three experienced and knowledgable speakers on varied refrigeration and air conditioning topics.
28th March 2024

CO2 compressor for multiple applications

ITALY: Frascold’s new TK HD series transcritical CO2 compressors are designed for a wide range of refrigeration and air conditioning applications, as well as high-temperature heat pumps up to 100°C.
28th March 2024

Copeland releases 50hp scroll in Asia

CHINA: US compressor manufacturer Copeland is to launch a 50hp scroll for heat pump OEMs in Asia.