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posted by cmn32480 on Sunday August 28 2016, @05:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the can-they-stop-me-from-seeing-the-neighbor-in-his-speedo? dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

By fine-tuning the chemical composition of nanoparticles, A*STAR researchers have developed a coating that is promising for fabricating smart windows suitable for tropical countries. Such windows block almost all the infrared heat from sun rays, while admitting most of the visible light.

The transparency of glass to visible light makes it the most common way to let light into a building. But because glass is also transparent to near-infrared radiation—windows also let in heat, giving rise to the well-known greenhouse effect. While this heating is welcomed in colder climates, it means that air conditioning has to work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature in in tropical climes.

Developing smart windows that allow most of the sun's light in, while blocking near-infrared radiation, would cut energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.

"In tropical Singapore, where air conditioning is the largest component of a building's energy requirements, even a small reduction in heat intake can translate into significant savings," notes Hui Huang of the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing and Technology.

Huang and his co-workers have developed such windows by coating glass with tin oxide nanoparticles doped with small amounts of the element antimony. By varying the nanoparticles' antimony concentration, they could optimize their ability to absorb near-infrared radiation.

"Our infrared shielding coating, with 10-nanometer antimony-doped tin oxide nanoparticles, blocks more than 90 per cent of near-infrared radiation, while transmitting more than 80 per cent of visible light," says Huang. "These figures are much better than those of coatings obtained using commercial antimony-doped tin oxide nanopowders. In particular, the infrared shielding performance of our small antimony-doped tin oxide nanocrystals is twice that of larger commercial antimony-doped tin oxide powders."


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  • (Score: 1) by DBCubix on Sunday August 28 2016, @05:35PM

    by DBCubix (553) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 28 2016, @05:35PM (#394268)

    would be to vary amount of antimony density on-demand after manufacture and hence manipulate the amount of heat transfer. That way the windows could be used in any climate and adjusted for comfort.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 28 2016, @06:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 28 2016, @06:30PM (#394285)

    Because the energy density of sunlight is reduced during winter, due to the angle of the earth's axis, the amount of heat to be gained from sunlight when you want it is not all that much. If the extra complexity was free, then yeah every little bit helps, but we are a long, long way from it being cost effective for most installations.

  • (Score: 2) by VanessaE on Monday August 29 2016, @08:56AM

    by VanessaE (3396) <vanessa.e.dannenberg@gmail.com> on Monday August 29 2016, @08:56AM (#394551) Journal

    Seems to me the simplest solution would be to choose a type of glass that allows as much IR through as possible, and then cover the window in a piece of film or something, coated with this stuff. I.e. something you could just raise and lower like common roll-up window blinds, or even apply said film to one. Wouldn't be as efficient as just sticking it on the glass, but it ought to be close.