The age of the petroleum economy is drawing to a close, and new solar window technology is here to help. A solar window is engineered to let daylight in while also catching solar energy and generating clean electricity, which can be used or stored in a building or fed into the local grid. Getting the right balance between lighting and energy production has been a tricky challenge, but the technology is maturing and poised for widespread commercial adoption.
Innovators have come up with two main kinds of solutions for see-through solar windows. One consists of a thin solution of photovoltaic particles, which can be coated over window glass. The other involves steering sunlight towards the edges of a pane of glass, where it can be collected by silicon solar cells. READ FULL ARTICLE