High-transparency Clear Glass Windows with Large PV Energy Outputs

Abstract

Multiple modern glass and window products based on novel glazing designs, metal-dielectric coatings, and proprietary interlayer types have been developed recently. Advanced windows of today can control properties such as thermal emissivity, heat gain, colour, and transparency. In more recent and more novel glass products, solar energy harvesting through PV integration is also featured. Typically, semitransparent and also highly-transparent PV windows are purpose-designed, to include luminescent materials, special microstructures, and customized electric circuitry. Recently, significant progress has been demonstrated in building integrated highly-transparent solar windows (VLT up to 70%, with P_max ~ 30-33 W_p/m², eg Clearvue PV Solar Windows); these are expected to add momentum towards the development of smart cities. These Clearvue window systems are, at present in 2021, the only type of high-transparency and clear construction materials capable of providing significant energy savings in buildings, simultaneously with renewable energy generation. The technology has already been deployed and tested in both commercial property applications and in R&D greenhousing. Of special interest is the combination of properties provided by Clearvue solar window products, which includes significant power conversion efficiency (~3.3%), which is achieved in windows of colour rendering index of 99%, simultaneously featuring high PV Yield in multi-oriented building-integrated PV (BIPV) installations.