 | Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com |
Glass
1969-12-31 18:00:00
Older windows and rising energy costs
Answer: I sure think so! According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) there is going to be some significant increases in the consumption and costs of energy over the next 2 decades. For example, electricity consumption will increase 45%, natural gas will increase about 62%, and heating oil will be going up over 33%. And it’s important to know that the folks supplying these energy fuels to us are not going to actually be able to meet the higher demands for at least the next 20 years. That will mean that consumers will be paying higher prices for all of these resources during that time.
There are some folks who are concentrating on ways to increase the energy supplies, while some other researchers have been concentrating their efforts on newer low power consuming technologies. Among those newer technologies are what they’re calling “smart windows”. This exciting cutting-edge window technology allows the consumer to block out either all of the light, or just some of the light by simply turning a knob, moving a slide, or pressing a button. This type of light control could potentially save billions of dollars on heating, cooling, and lighting costs in this country alone. The research shows that approximately 2 percent of all of the energy used in this country is consumed by those losses of energy by residential windows.
There are several technologies that can be used in a smart-window application as a practical matter.
Currently, liquid crystals suspended particle devices (SPDs), and electrochromics are being touted as the latest and greatest window technologies -- with reflective hydrides nipping closely at their heels.
Windows serve an important function in homes and commercial buildings. They not only let light in to cut down on electricity used for lighting, but the light coming through the window also provides heat. However, windows are not something people typically associate with being a cutting-edge technology. One tenacious company is trying to change that by offering a patented technology that enables a window to quickly change from clear to opaque and anywhere in between with the flip of a switch.
Conventionally, curtains and mini-blinds have been used to block out light and give us privacy, but they don’t block out all of the light. One company has developed a type of window that uses small light-absorbing microscopic particles known as suspended particle devices (SPD), or light valves, to make it go from clear to dark in a matter of seconds. Here’s a breakdown of the parts that make up SPD light-control windows:
Two panels of glass or plastic
Conductive material, which is used to coat the panes of glass
Suspended particle devices, where millions of these black particles are placed between the two panes of glass
Liquid suspension or film which allows the particles to float freely between the glass
The control device, which can be automatic or manual
How the SPD windows work is very simple, if you think of SPDs as light valves. In an SPD window, millions of these SPDs are placed between two panels of glass or plastic, which is coated with a transparent conductive material. When electricity comes into contact with the SPDs via the conductive coating, they line up in a straight line and allow light to flow through. Once the electricity is taken away, they move back into a random pattern and block light. When the amount of voltage is decreased, the window darkens until it’s completely dark after all electricity is taken away.
An interesting story in fact is that of how light absorbing crystals were originally discovered. Although Edwin Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera, was the first to build a device using suspended particle devices (SPDs), the actual discovery of light-absorbing crystals can be credited to a dog. SPD technology was first discovered more than 100 years ago. As the story goes, the dog of an English chemist had been fed some quinine bisulfate to settle an upset stomach. When the dog accidentally urinated on a tray of iodine, the chemist noticed that green crystals formed in the tray. Somehow, the chemist discovered that these crystals had the ability to filter out light. Land later used these light-absorbing crystals to make a pair of glasses that could block out light. Interesting, huh? If you have window, door, or other glass needs, see your local glass dealer for complete information! More next month...
