Applications & Installations

Japanese consortium demonstrates transparent PV windows in indoor environment

Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG), Japan’s largest glassmaker, plans to show photovoltaic windows developed by its US unit, Ubiquitous Energy, at a train station in Japan. The windows feature a transparent photovoltaic coating with an invisible element of power generation, capable of absorbing non-visible wavelengths.
Emiliano Bellini
By
Emiliano Bellini
UE Power windows | Image: Eneos

NSG says it will demonstrate transparent photovoltaic windows made by US technology company Ubiquitous Energy in an indoor environment at Takanawa Gateway Station, a train station in Tokyo.

NSG is leading a consortium formed by Japanese oil company Eneos, East Japan Railway Company, and Japanese architectural firm YKK AP. The consortium may eventually adopt the solar window solution for its own projects.

“These windows are capable of highly efficient power generation using ultraviolet and infrared rays as energy sources, while maintaining the same level of transparency as ordinary windows and offering excellent heat shielding and heat insulation properties,” the company said in a statement.

The UE Power window has a transparent photovoltaic coating that absorbs non-visible wavelengths, collects and transmits electricity via an onboard system within the window frame, and transfers generated energy to a battery, boosting building energy efficiency.

The window can take technical data points, such as wind speed, light exposure, and temperature from the site. The data can be used to integrate with building system controls to optimize power utilization.

NSG and Eneos previously quantitatively evaluated the solar windows outdoors at NSG’s Chiba Plant for one year. The testing period for the windows at Takanawa Gateway Station will be two months.

Ubiquitous Energy claims that its patented transparent PV glass coating produces energy without altering the appearance of traditional windows. The UE Power windows could offset up to 10% of global carbon emissions and significantly reduce the 40% of emissions sourced from buildings, according to the company.

*The article was updated on May 2 to reflect that Ubiquitous Energy is an independent company and not a unit of NSG, as we previously reported.

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Apr 28, 2023

[…] largest glassmaker will soon put photovoltaic glazing to the test at a train station. In addition to its photovoltaic glazing that will transfer produced […]

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