Late Award - Low Cost Nanostructured Smart Window Coatings

Residential and commercial buildings represent a prime opportunity to improve energy efficiency and sustainability worldwide. Currently, lighting and thermal management within buildings account for 20% of the United States yearly energy consumption. The objective of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 project is to develop a low-cost, near-infrared (NIR) selective, plasmonic smart insulating glass unit (IGU) that reduces building energy consumption by dynamically optimizing solar gain. During this project, Heliotrope will utilize scalable solution-based techniques to create unique nanocrystal electrochromic layers. The novel electrochromic layers will be initially examined for compatibility and performance, then subsequently used to construct solid-state energy efficient windows. Systematic characterization of the solid-state electrochromic device will establish which components in the system are performance limiting. Upon successful fabrication, Heliotrope expects to achieve enhanced solar modulation at fast switching speeds. During our Phase 1 project, 4 & quot;x4 & quot; prototype smart panes (larger than the size originally anticipated) were fabricated and tested using low-cost, solution-based techniques. Prototype coatings were built as a laminated pane of glass, consisting entirely of solid-state components. Initial performance showed 40% near infrared modulation with less than 3% visible light modulation at switching speeds of ~2min. In our Phase 2 project, we propose to extend the development of low-cost, NIR-selective, plasmonic electrochromic windows by fabricating 10 & quot;x10 & quot; IGUs that are powered wirelessly through their framing. Fabrication of the windows will occur using the same scalable techniques developed during the Phase I effort. ASTM standards will be used to validate window durability under a variety of conditions. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The economic and environmental benefits of using electrochromic windows are clear: reducing one quad of energy use would yield an average savings of $10.6 billion, while eliminating about 21.5 gigawatts of power produced by fossil fuels and saving nearly 59 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. It is estimated that the use of electrochromic windows in buildings can achieve a 50% reduction in peak energy demand and a 30% reduction in overall energy use. Still, current electrochromic windows in the market have not reached their market potential due to their high cost ( & gt;$200/ft2 installed). Heliotropes NIR selective electrochromic windows are based on an innovative design that increases lifetime and performance, while reducing production cost. Wide- scale adoption of this unique technology will not only enhance market penetration for dynamic windows, but establish a new benchmark for performance and cost.