Switchable.
Photovoltaic.
window.
technology.
SwitchGlaze™
SwitchGlaze is a technology developed at the National Renewable Energy Lab. It uses a perovskite absorber that is transparent when it is cool. This allows light to illuminate the space in a building and warm it, saving on heating and lighting costs. At higher temperature, the perovskite layer becomes semitransparent. It then absorbs light—lowering air conditioning costs—and converts it to electricity, turning a window into a photovoltaic cell.
Dynamic switching
SwitchGlaze goes from transparent to semitransparent (and back again!) dynamically and repeatably. A lab-scale 1″ by 1″ window was recently created—shown here—proving the technology.
A natural fit
A standard perovskite solar cell and a high performance window contain many of the same layers. Thus SwitchGlaze combines elements of both to create a high thermal efficiency, energy generating window barrier using mostly well-developed technologies.
Just Better
Switchable PV windows provide numerous benefits, ultimately saving money for those who install them. We estimate a payback period 1/3 of traditional high thermal efficiency windows.
Color Balancing
The most efficient semitransparent solar cell is actually tinted yellow, orange, or red depending on how transparent it is. We can make PV windows any color without sacrificing performance using a newly developed color balancing layer.
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