The smart cities of the future will depend on the integration of smart or intelligent windows into buildings to ensure a high quality of living while conserving as much energy and resources as possible. As an element of the building that interacts with the outside, windows are responsible for more than 50% of the total energy losses in comparison with other structures in the building.
At glasstec 2024, the Smart-Win consortium will be presenting the demonstrator of a new smart window that shows the potential for building management. Not only can the energy self-sufficient window control solar transmission with shading, but it also provides a range of additional functions such as health management, energy recovery and building connectivity. It includes energy generation and storage as well as various sensors which act as an interface between the building, its occupants and the environment.
CIGS thin-film solar cells are integrated into the laminated glass of the demonstrator for energy recovery. There are light-conducting films to increase energy recovery efficiency, various integrated sensors in the frame and on the glass surface combined with IoT (BLE). Key technologies are currently being developed by partners Almendo Technologies (bluSensor), Bartenbach, Profactor and Sunplugged as well as Green Town Technology Industry and Tianjin University as part of the Austro/ Chinese research project SmartWIN (#891144).
