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Scientists have developed a smart window that can store heat and generate energy
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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New development by Singaporean scientists: a smart window that can retain heat, generate energy and block sunlight, ensuring an optimal temperature in the room.
Nowadays, a large number of transparent solar panels have been created, which are used in buildings as windows and are also elements of facade decoration. Such panels serve not only for beauty, but also produce electrical energy using solar radiation. The use of technologies for the production and conservation of energy, which are part of the structure, has become increasingly popular in recent years. And there is an explanation for this, because in addition to significant savings in money and energy, such technologies look very harmonious and do not spoil the overall appearance of the building.
Recently, a group of specialists developed luminescent transparent concentrators that can be placed on any surface, even on a mobile phone screen, without blocking images at all.
The latest development by scientists is a “smart window” that can darken and block sunlight when necessary, allowing the interior to remain cool.
At Singapore's premier university of technology, scientists have presented a new version of a device that provides itself with energy, but the excess energy can be used for other needs of the structure.
The new window has two glass panels with an oxygen-containing electrolyte poured between them. The glass surfaces have a conductive layer that connects the two panels to create a closed circuit. One of the glass panels has a coloring pigment (Berlin glaze). This dye, when fully charged, turns the glass blue and darkens it.
In bright sunlight, the new window takes on a cool blue tint, blocking half of the ultraviolet radiation, which helps keep the room cool. As evening approaches and the sun becomes less bright, the window becomes transparent as the coating discharges by this time. Experts have called this tinting method quite elegant.
According to the developers, the new electrochemical window has two advantages, since in addition to the window, the new development is a battery. As Professor Sun Xiaowei noted, when charging, the window turns blue, the oxygen contained in the electrolyte allows the window to breathe.
When the circuit between the glass panels is broken, a chemical reaction begins to occur between the oxygen contained in the electrolyte and the coloring pigment, which makes the window blue.
When the circuit is closed, the color of the glass surface is transparent, and the color change can occur in just a few seconds.
The smart window also comes with a switch that allows you to control the panels in real time.
The research team also used a small sample of the new device to demonstrate its operation using an LED as an example. This experiment clearly demonstrated that the window can be used as a transparent self-charging battery for low-power electronics.
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