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Smart window materials for automatic climate control of buildings

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    29th May, 2021
  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati have developed a smart window material for automatic climate control of buildings.

Context

  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati have developed a smart window material for automatic climate control of buildings.

About the material

  • There has been increased attention to sustainable architectural designs for better light and heat management in buildings in recent years and smart windows is the one among such structures.
    • It will support to green building initiative and GRIHA.
  • Characteristics: The designed Smart window material can effectively control the amount of heat and light that passes through it in response to an applied voltage.
    • It will dynamically adjust the amount of light and heat radiation entering a building in response to external stimuli, thus conserving the building’s energy.
    • The design of smart windows is tuneable for all-weather conditions.
  • Features: Smart window ‘glasses’ were designed by using noble metals as well as their relatively inexpensive alternatives.
    • An electro-tuneable glass was used.
    • It is made of two ultra-thin metal layers sandwiching an electro-optic polymer whose refractive index can be changed by applying a small voltage, which allows filtering of visible and infrared radiation.
    • Optical response of these types of smart glasses is critically linked to the surface smoothness and other physical properties of the layers.
  • Significance: It would help to develope efficient automatic climate control.
    • It also gives a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic that has risk of cross-infections through aerosols transmission in public buildings such as healthcare centres, offices, transportation systems, workshops, laboratories and food storage facilities, where central air-conditioning systems are in use.
    • Smart windows can provide an alternative solution for maintaining ambient indoor temperature and lighting inside a building or a vehicle by integrating those with usual glass windows or walls, thereby reducing the need of air-conditioning systems.

Green Building Initiative

  • It is dedicated to improve building performance and reducing climate impacts.
  • PM Awaas Yojnaa - Housing for All has also taken this into consideration.

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

  • The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
  • It was formed in the year 2001.
  • The vision of the council is, "To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025"

GRIHA

  • It is the national rating system for green buildings in India.
  • GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.
  • It evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a ‘green building’. 

Some of the benefits of a green design to a building owner, user, and the society as a whole are as follows:

  • Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing the comfort levels
  • Reduced destruction of natural areas, habitats, and biodiversity, and reduced soil loss from erosion etc.
  • Reduced air and water pollution (with direct health benefits)
  • Reduced water consumption
  • Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
  • Reduced pollution loads
  • Increased user productivity
  • Enhanced image and marketability

Verifying, please be patient.

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