Cleverer smart windows grow $6.5 billion market

Such smart glass will even facilitate the megatrend to energy independent vehicles by creating electricity from the ever larger windows of land, water and air vehicles and providing privacy, energy conservation and sun protection on demand.

Electrically active windows started with embedded demister, de-icer and antenna patterns and progressed to the darken-on-demand windows popular in airliners, superyachts, premium cars and many buildings. Next, electricity creating photovoltaic windows are increasingly seen in buildings and keenly awaited for mainstream vehicles.

The new IDTechEx report, Electrically Active Smart Glass and Windows 2018-2028 primarily concerns the commercialisation and future of electrically active inorganic glass we call smart glass. That includes putting it in context with passive glass optically responding to heat and light and transparent electrically active polymers in windows and combinations as well.

This report, researched globally by PhD level multilingual analysts, is intended to be of use to developers and those intending to manufacture, sell or use such material and the devices such as windows and systems incorporating it. With many original infographics, tables and images, IDTechEx presents both the technology and the markets in an easily absorbed manner.

It uses facts-based analysis to create roadmaps, forecasts and insights. The primary coverage is transparent photovoltaics producing electricity; electronic shades using electrically activated liquid crystals, suspended particle devices and electrochromics and thirdly structural OLED lighting.

However, many other options are also covered such as the thermoelectric creation of electricity to power sensors in translucent glass and the challenges of transparent OLED displays. Passive darkening technology is compared with active.

Building skins with tunable properties have been the architects’ dream for decades. Such skins will alter the very concept of a building into that of an entity operating in harmony with nature rather as, in most cases, in stark opposition to nature and requiring energy guzzling measures such as air conditioning and artificial lighting to create a liveable indoor environment.

EC foil technology, in particular, opens new roads towards membrane architecture and may make it possible to create climate shells and zones between indoors and outdoors. The membranes can be based on ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) with well documented long-term durability as a building material.

The report gives ten year forecasts for the various technologies comprising a market of around $6.5 billion in 2028 and a lot more thereafter. It explains why this is mainly concerned with new buildings and new vehicles, with some opportunity for premium pricing, and different potential for different functions.

For instance, building skins with tunable properties between transparency and opaqueness for privacy has been the architects’ dream for decades. Many are now installed and other smarts such as creating electricity are already demonstrated in many buildings.

Such skins will alter the very concept of a building into that of an entity operating in harmony with nature rather as, in most cases, in stark opposition to nature and requiring energy guzzling measures such as air conditioning and artificial lighting to create a liveable indoor environment.

Electrochromic foil technology, in particular, opens new roads towards membrane architecture and may make it possible to create climate shells and zones between indoors and outdoors. The membranes can be based on ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) with well documented long-term durability as a building material.

The main characteristics of active smart glass are that it involves an electrical interface and is controlled manually by the user or automatically with a sensor, remote control device or integrated building control system. It is commercialised in various ways, particularly in architectural, automotive, aerospace and marine applications.

The report Electrically Active Smart Glass and Windows 2018-2028 explains why greatest adoption today is for shading and these versions are mainly electrochromic but the largest sector in 2028 will be photovoltaics.