"Smart" facade keeps offices from overheating, without using any electricity

Office buildings with plate glass windows may provide a nice view for workers, but they're certainly not ideal when it comes to energy-efficiency. Among other things, the sunlight that pours through them can raise the temperature in the office, causing the air conditioning to come on. Now, however, researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology have created a light-blocking facade for such windows that only kicks in when exposed to strong sunlight – and it's powered by that sunlight, too... Continue Reading "Smart" facade keeps offices from overheating, without using any electricity

Section: Good Thinking

Tags: Energy-saving, Fraunhofer, Shape Memory Alloys, Sunlight

Related Articles:

• Solar glazing chases sun from dawn until dusk
• Umbrella facade designed for Shanghai complex
• Window coating improves mood by letting more light in
• New solar cell efficiency record set
• Huge metallic mesh façade helps shield French theater from weather damage
• Smart Energy Glass controls light on demand