Heliotrope Technologies, an early-stage startup currently incubating at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, may have found the key to delivering the first cost-effective “smart window.” The company has developed a relatively inexpensive glass composite with the unprecedented capacity to selectively block the sun’s heat-producing infrared radiation as well as visible light. Buildings equipped with such glass could be more energy-efficient.
Two companies, View and Sage Electrochromics, have taken the lead in the fledgling industry.
The market for smart glass remains minuscule, however, and is mostly confined to niche applications like tintable rearview mirrors in cars. Demand for smart windows is low because the upfront costs are prohibitively high for most potential buyers.
An electrochromic window essentially works like a transparent rechargeable battery. Two pieces of conducting glass sandwich an electrolyte material, and changes in transmittance of the glass occur in response to electrochemical charging and discharging.
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