Nippon Sheet Glass and Japan“s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) are to jointly market solar-control window glass, the glassmaker has announced. Under the agreem…
Nippon Sheet Glass and Japan“s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) are to jointly market solar-control window glass, the glassmaker has announced. Under the agreement, the pair will aim to market thermochromic glass already developed by AIST within three years. The AIST prototype is composed of glass coated with thermochromic materials. When the outside temperature is in the range of 10 – 68 degrees C, the optical properties of the thermochromic materials change in relation to the temperature, varying the solar heat transmission rate of the glass. AIST“s thermochromic coating is comprised of vanadium dioxide and a mixture of vanadium dioxide, tungsten, molybdenum, and other metals. The independent administrative agency says the quantities of these metals added to vanadium dioxide influences the optical properties of the glass. As AIST“s thermochromic glass is capable of reducing heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, the marketing of the product is expected to lead to significant reductions in household air-conditioning expenses. Nippon Sheet Glass says it is aiming for JPY 1 billion (USD 9.26 million) in annual sales of the window glass by 2010.