Gone are the days when shopping for window replacements only meant picking out a decent glass and a durable frame that would last you for years and that would never go out of style. Now, there’s a lot of factors to consider before calling the shots. There’s the question of whether to go for wood vs. vinyl windows; sorting out a window’s energy efficiency; and selecting which glazing treatment meets your needs. Fortunately, there are always new window innovations and solutions coming out each year.
In this article, we’ll keep you up to date a list of brand new glass technologies in 2020 that will blow your mind with their well-thought-of features that will dramatically change the way we know windows forever.
Let’s get started!
Electrochromic Glass Windows
Now, you can forget about installing blinds or drapes with this new window innovation that improves smart windows’ electrochromic capabilities, or the feature which changes the transparency depending on the intensity of the sunlight. Admire picturesque views of your lush outdoor garden but be automatically sheltered from the harsh summer heat when noontime comes. This new glass technology offers homeowners added leverage when it comes to having the convenience and privacy whenever they please.
According to Science Direct, windows that dim on demand already exist. It is called electrochromic technology and has, in fact, been used on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Amazing as it may sound, experts suggest that there is more room for improvement. "For privacy applications, they're not as high performing as people would like," reveals Ioannis Kymissis, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University, where a new window innovation to surpass electrochromic technology is being developed.
Still in the testing phase, the prototype, which is a small square at two inches per side, aims to provide more opacity at a much faster rate. One of the most promising new window technologies for 2020, it uses a method involving ions from two metals (such as copper and silver) in an electrolyte gel and a colourless conductor found in television screens and smartphone screens called indium tin oxide to be applied on the window. Powered by electricity, the windows will maintain their present opacity when you turn them off.
Thermochromic Glass Windows
A new window innovation masterfully combines the merits of smart windows combined with ultimate energy efficiency that requires no electricity. This transitioning technology is equipped with a thermochromic filter inside double-pane windows and a Low-E coating.
As its name suggests, these clear thermochromic windows boast of tinting filter sensors that once triggered with the rise in temperature from the heat of the sun will result in dimming its colour to block the heat, glare, and UV light damage and provide an overall cooling benefit inside your living spaces. The more intense the sun is outside, the darker the windows will become. During the cold winter season, thermochromic windows will remain clear allowing light and warmth to keep your home all cozy.
Because it is not powered by electricity and needs no special wiring or connection, this simple but super practical new window technology can be used on both fixed or operable windows, doors, and skylights.
Solar-Harvesting Windows
Actively collecting energy from the sun through solar panels has become a relatively common practice these days. We see them prominently covering roofs of residential homes and commercial buildings. Wouldn’t it be nice to capture the harsh afternoon sun that hits your windows in the peak of summer and use it as a power source for your home, too?
This is what the scientists at Michigan State University are currently working on with their transparent luminescent solar concentrator. This incredible solar harvesting system employs minute organic molecules designed by Richard Lunt and his team from MSU’s College of Engineering to draw in particular non-visible wavelengths of sunlight.
Unlike other new glass technologies that have created almost the same effect in coloured glasses, this new window innovation has achieved it on clear, transparent material. For the team, this represents positive progress that there are available opportunities to maximize solar power gathering without being intrusive or without you even knowing that it’s there, such as in skyscraper buildings with hundreds of floor-to-ceiling windows and smartphones.
Bird-friendly Windows
Did you know that next to attack from cats, window collisions are the biggest cause of bird deaths in general?
An article by Safe Wings Ottawa (a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that raises awareness about the causes of window strikes, documents window collisions, and rescues injured and dead birds for protection and research), suggests that almost one billion birds die every year in North America from hitting glass windows. Alarmingly, roughly 16 to 42 million of those deaths occur in Canada.
Due to the extremely transparent and reflective quality of glass windows, birds are unable to naturally recognize them as barriers, which result in unfortunate and unreasonable avian fatalities. They are particularly prone from crashing through reflective glass windows that reflect nearby trees and the sky above or clear windows that have visible indoor plants.
Inspired by this, ARNOLD GLAS came up with ORNILUX Bird Protection Glass. This unique new glass technology is designed with a special pattern made of UV reflective coating that can be seen by all kinds of birds while keeping windows aesthetically pleasing and just virtually transparent to the human eyes.
The bird-friendly window glazing treatment has undergone testing and was approved by the American Bird Conservancy. If you care about wildlife and the environment in general, this brilliant new window technology is without a doubt a worthy investment.
Discover New Window Innovations and Styles
Check out our latest window styles and pair them with the exciting new glass technologies of 2020! Clera Windows + Doors is one of Canada’s largest, oldest, most dependable, and reputable vinyl window manufacturers in Ontario. We take care of everything, from manufacturing, installation, and after-sales services.
To know more about what we do and how Clera Windows + Doors can help you, contact us today!
