University study endorses ClearVue solar windows

Smart building materials trailblazer, ClearVue Technologies, said that a recent scientific study conducted by Edith Cowan University on its clear, energy harnessing, solar windows, represents the first study of its kind worldwide that has measured the performance characteristics and practical application possibilities of solar glass technology.

The company’s solar glass window panels are infused with a micro-thin energy harnessing film that becomes transparent after the glass has been laminated.

The film soaks up energy from the sun and disperses it to the sides of the window panel where ClearVue’s second piece of proprietary technology kicks in – a solar strip that borders the glass panel that is able to effectively harness and transfer the energy.

ClearVue’s windows can be orientated in multiple directions to capture sunlight for generating power and the recent research project was conducted at Warwick Grove Shopping Centre in Perth, where an atrium entrance has been fitted using ClearVue’s unique solar glass.  

Results of the work were released in the well-respected Applied Sciences Journal late last month, with scientists collecting data and then extrapolating the results over time at Warwick Grove.

The paper sets out results from a 35m wide glass dome-like feature constructed from ClearVue’s solar glass at the shopping centre with Edith Cowan now predicting that similar structures should generate around 140 kilowatt-hours of electricity per average sunny day

Edith Cowan’s study suggests that this number is roughly equivalent to the daily electrical energy consumption requirements of ten typical, three-bedroom Australian households.

Importantly, ClearVue said that the actual field-measured performance of the window panels aligned closely with its predicted energy outputs.

The scientific community appears to have embraced the study which has enjoyed voluminous numbers of mentions online since its original publication on September 24.

ClearVue said the scientific, peer-reviewed article that arose from Edith Cowan’s study is now recorded as the 14th most read piece from 1,826 published stories in the Applied Sciences Journal, having been downloaded hundreds of times in just the first week since publishing,

Management said this level of readership places the article in the top 10% of all research publications ever tracked by scientific data tracking service provider, Altmetric.

The study also revealed the practical scalability and future application options for ClearVue’s solar window glass installations, such as the rooves of airports, large commercial shopping plaza domes and widespread aesthetic façade and skylighting opportunities.

In September, the company confirmed that it had increased the size of its glass units to an area covering 2.3 metres by 1.2 metres, or 2.76 square metres in total, which is nearly double the size of the previous largest ClearVue solar glass panel manufactured.

The company also recently said that testing is underway at Underwriters Laboratories and the International Electrotechnical Commission, to gain appropriate accreditation for its products, with work expected to be completed by the end of November.

In a world that has apparently become obsessed with climate change and energy conservation, it just might be that ClearVue has developed a product for the ages that will withstand the test of time – only time will tell.

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