Smart Windows Just Got Smarter by Generating Power

Smart windows which can change their opacity have been shown previously but these new ones generate solar power for the house.  (Science Daily:  Solar smart window could offer privacy, light control on demand)

Smart windows get darker to filter out the sun's rays on bright days, and turn clear on cloudy days to let more light in.  This feature can help control indoor temperatures and offers some privacy without resorting to aids such as mini-blinds.  Now scientists report a new development in this growing niche: solar smart windows that can turn opaque on demand and even power other devices.  The study appears in ACS Photonics.

- Science Daily

If the others were smart windows then these ones must be brilliant but we have one key question:  what will they cost.  When people are hard-pressed to replace single-pane windows with double- or triple-pane windows, increasing that cost in what is likely to be a spectacular way could make them unaffordable.

The economist wants a pay off and here's the thinking:

The researchers created a new smart window by sandwiching a polymer matrix containing microdroplets of liquid crystal materials, and an amorphous silicon layer -- the type often used in solar cells -- between two glass panes.  When the window is "off," the liquid crystals scatter light, making the glass opaque.  The silicon layer absorbs the light and provides the low power needed to align the crystals so light can pass through and make the window transparent when the window is turned "on" by the user.  The extra energy that doesn't go toward operating the window is harvested and could be redirected to power other devices, such as lights, TVs or smartphones, the researchers say.

- Science Daily

There's nothing which is quantified in the article so we don't know how much power it's possible to generate this way but it could be quite a bit multiplied by the surface area of all the windows of a house.  The SD article doesn't give an idea of how long it might take for a pay off if you make such an upgrade but that piece will be vital if these windows can be commercially viable.

If they really are viable, one glorious consequence is even more hideous glass skyscrapers.  Glory.

So far, the trouble with smart houses is they're not all that smart.  Devices can turn themselves on / off and they can communicate with each other but they aren't exactly Einstein yet.  This brilliant window brings a different level of functional intelligence and it needs to be controlled to raise / lower the level of opacity but that could presumably be programmed so the house could manage it independently.  With that sort of thing in-place then I'll be thinking the house has some intelligence to it.