Nihon windowpanes feature built-in photovoltaic cells

Think your house is green? Think again. Japan's own Nihon Telecommunication System has just revealed a line of windowpanes that actually include integrated photovoltaic cells. The windows are aimed at the (ritzy) residential housing market, and folks that snag a few will reportedly be able to power a PC and recharge their cellphones simply by tapping into the energy generated by these units. Additionally, the glass is designed to shun most of the sunlight from coming into your abode, thereby lowering air conditioning costs and satisfying your needs as an introvert. So, what's the pain for helping out Mother Earth? Around $1,900 per square meter of windowpane -- ouch.

[Via CrunchGear]

[dervheid @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:18AM]

So, for £950/m2 you get reduced air con bills (not really that relevant in the UK, we just tend to open a few windows) and an iddy biddy little bit of electricity...
and an increased lighting bill (or you can live in the perma-dusk).

Be ideal for albinos then.

Nice idea, but it'll need to get a LOT cheaper.

[Shinigami @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:16PM]

+1
Make it dirt-cheap and I'm sold xD

[Anthony @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:17AM]

Not only is this very expensive- I don't really know how effective it would be. House windows are generally vertical. That isn't going to really do much since if you think about it the sun only hits a window for a few minutes each day, unlike roof panels, which could get direct exposure for hours on end. Seems like a gimmick to me.

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:30AM]

If I was rich, I'd do it just for the shading and the minimal energy is just a bonus... but if I was rich I'd also buy an army of monkies to fight a really big elephant... so take what I say for what it is.

[Deez @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:31AM]

Elephant would win

[ShadowKain @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:50AM]

Good note on the Window placement, your right about the sun not hitting it all day, maybe you don't need all day sun like a roof panel? Price is over the top, yes, but the material, if you look up the nylon process, is not cheap either. It's not as if solar cells were cheap as well.

[Matthew Hilario @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:32PM]

Anthony nailed it. Besides that Central Air Conditioner in the back doesn't look too sad does it?

[huh @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:24AM]

what about, y'know, south facing windows? in my loft, the main room
would be unlivable, due to very bright and hot sunlight, if it weren't for a big tree blocking the sun.

[Twitchy @ Jul 24th 2008 5:59AM]

We have the same issue here in New Zealand - except it's the North facing windows. In summer we have to close our blinds to avoid our apartment turning into a giant crock-pot.

[andrew @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:25AM]

I don't know - some careful placement to optimize exposure on office towers sounds like a great idea to me. They have this film on windows in my office in NY to cut out sunlight but that's all it does. 48 stories of windows generating electricity is a fantastic idea, I think.

[Josh @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:35AM]

exactly, the commercial aspects of this tech are incredible, places out west like LA should be buying this up like crazy

and like someone else said before, anyone with a southwest exposure feels the sunlight pain for more than a few hours a day, its a big leap to call this a gimmick

[Anthony @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:13PM]

I agree- office buildings make sense & could be huge. Most houses I see (w/ awnings) would find this a very expensive add on.

[John De Vries Turks @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:43AM]

Think sky lites..could be very progressive product. Could possibly become the replacement of the ugly solar collectors.

[Jeremy @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:51AM]

I'll have it installed to encapsulate my rooftop swimming pool, and use the electricity it generates to power my jacuzzi filled with cristal. I wish I had money...

[Matt E. @ Jul 23rd 2008 6:31PM]

Awesome!

[Jasonbot @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:11PM]

Shouldn't the article rather read:

So, what's the PANE for helping out Mother Earth??

[Eric @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:11AM]

For you naysayers, you have a point. And yet this is a chicken and egg concept.

Just today on PBS news was a story about the plug-in hybrid car conference going on right now. The powers that be say many auto manufacturers are now getting into plug-in hybrids, and will have models out in two years.

And there's a committment from some companies to build electric charging stations all over the US. One of the comments was "This is a chicken and egg situation. They said they need batteries before they can build the cars, they need cars before they can build charging stations. We're now there and it's happening."

Amazing what $4 a gallon can do. Imagine these windows becoming common and cheap? The chicken is in labor! :-D

[Benson @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:07PM]

Any clue how many of these you need to charge a car up?

And to make charging your car from solar power practical, you need interchangeable batteries, or even more solar windows. Since conventional usage is to charge the car at night, but solar is available during the day, you want to charge the battery and swap it. Or, charge a bank of batteries at home, and use them to charge the car; double the charging losses is double the fun!

Don't get me wrong; they're good, but they're no chicken for the EV egg.

[whowhatme @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:45PM]

I think you're missing the point Benson... the point Eric was trying to make is that innovation (and subsequent infrastructure and price improvements) are driven by sales. That's why early adopters are crucial for any technological development.

Sure, it might cost a limb now, but the more demand there is for this product, the more profit there is to be had, and therefore the more development and research will go into improving the technology.

Which is why, actually, $4 gas is actually a good thing for developing alternative energy. Like someone once said, "the stone age didn't end because we ran out of stones."

[dervheid @ Jul 24th 2008 3:05AM]

and the stone age didn't end because of the cost of stones either!

BTW. $4 a gallon! You actually think that's EXPENSIVE?
In the UK 'gas' is actually around the equivalent of $11 a gallon.
No, no mistype, $11 a gallon.
So quit bitching about the cost of 'gas' in the US.
Please.

[OneLove @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:06AM]

I want glass that tints with a push of a button.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:19AM]

Before installing 1900 USD X M2 windowpanes make sure the kids stopped playing baseball on your lawn.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:20AM]

Before installing 1900 USD X M2 windowpanes make sure the kids stopped playing baseball on your lawn.

[XenoX101 @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:26AM]

If everything was covered with solar power receiving material, would we even need other renewable sources of energy? I can imagine this tech being used on every skyscraper built in the future. Only time will tell

[Jon Acheson @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:36AM]

That's way too pricey. Though I'm sure they are selling to the very upscale market for the time being. Maybe with Tokyo's insane real estate prices, this seems more acceptable there.

Also, how long are these expected to last? For most homes, windows are expected to last for the life of the building, barring accidents. Photovoltaic cells, not so much.

[cieplowski @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:49AM]

Wonder how much damaged it causes to produce these panes. Looking at the price tag it must be either extremely labour intensive a and/or use hard to produce parts. So you have a new production factory employing 1000 people all driving to work in their 4x4`s using god knows what types of gases and processes to produce these. Is it all worth it?

[Sebastien Hubert @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:20PM]

4x4's in japan !? I haven't been there so I have no proof, but really ?

[watt @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:08PM]

Hmm, $177 per square foot...
How efficient are these? If they were 10% efficient they'd pay for themselves in about 130 years.

[Kevin @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:08PM]

I like the idea more for side windows in a car than on my home. I open the drapes to let light in! With these, I'd also have to open the window. Perhaps these could be designed to slide to the side (think shutters) when light is desired. For those that have mechanical drapes with a remote, both actions could be done at once.

[cadsystems @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:08PM]

I think I read somewhere that any solar panel is expensive right, now but in the next 5 to 10 years, they will be common place and cheap. So I will wait the 5 years.

[ToxicDose @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:33PM]

I like this one from last week better: http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/16/mit-researchers-develop-window-tint-solar-concentrators/

[linuxamp @ Jul 24th 2008 12:29AM]

Considering the close proximity between many Japanese homes I think most windows will get very low amounts of direct sunlight per day.