For most Americans today, the ideal home should have floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows that freely let in sunlight. However, in summer, such windows get very hot, and in winter they serve as poor protection from the cold. As a result, households spend a lot of money on cooling and heating, and it is this trend that the California company Ubiquitous Energy decided to change. And potentially on a global scale.
Director of Business Development, Viral Hardev, calls the main task of the company “Omnipresent Energy” (that’s how its name is translated into Russian) the transformation of any home glazing into a continuous, energy-generating surface.
How “Omnipresent Energy” was born
The idea for Ubiquitous Energy came about on the MIT campus when its co-founder, Michael Barr, was working on his Ph.D. In frequent conversations with two friends, MIT professors Vladimir Bulovich and Richard Lunt, he often discussed options for making solar panels cheaper and more affordable. Scientists plunged headlong into quantum physics, searching for the optimal method for manipulating the spectrum and selectively absorbing light by photovoltaic cells.
“Conventional solar panels tend to absorb all of the sun’s energy. And ideally convert the maximum of this volume into electric current“, – explained Hardev. “ But we decided to develop a device that will completely transmit radiation in the visible part of the spectrum, and absorb only the ultraviolet and infrared rays .”
Scientists were based on the fact that any transparent surfaces – windows and roofs of houses, car windows, walls of greenhouses – can have an additional function. And it will consist in the parallel absorption of solar radiation, which under normal conditions does not bring any practical benefit. In 2011, the idea of friends was embodied in the creation of Ubiquitous Energy. At the same time, the concept of completely transparent panels took first prize in the MIT Clean Energy Prize competition in the renewable energy category.
“We can really revolutionize the way people think about ordinary windows,” Hardev continued.. “In a world of people surrounded by smart things, windows should be no exception! This is a product that is fully ripe for evolution. Currently, windows are static and perform only one function. We are going to create them interactive, able to become an additional source of energy.”
Today, the company is working to ensure that its solar windows complement traditional rooftop solar panels. According to Ubiqitous Energy CEO Miles Barr, the combination of both solutions can easily provide complete energy autonomy even for arbitrarily large buildings. In other words, to ensure that such houses will produce no less electricity than they consume.
How do solar windows work?
Ubiquitous Energy’s current product is 14″ x 20″ windows. Currently, this is the minimum threshold from which glazing elements in the United States are subject to certification and use. In the near future, the Ubiquitous Energy team plans to launch larger windows, as well as a significant overall increase in production.
Fully transparent glass produced by Ubiqitous Energy technology is covered with organic sputtering with a thickness of only 0.001 mm. It is this layer that captures the infrared and ultraviolet rays of the solar spectrum and converts them into electrical current. Energy from the surface of windows can be used both to power private houses and offices, and for storage in batteries.
New technology is extremely important for another reason. New California laws require all new buildings to be equipped with solar-powered electricity from 2020. Ubiquitous Energy offers a cost-effective solution to this issue, and also plans to expand the technology to the production of energy-generating car windows and electronic gadgets.
Professor Hardev adds: “Most of the energy potential is in the infrared range. If the solar panel does not stop the radiation of the part of the spectrum that our eyes see, you can make the device transparent and absorb energy at the same time. Yes, while the efficiency of such surfaces is lower than traditional panels. But you can put it anywhere“.
“There is still a lot of work to be done on how to get a solar window to power a private home or commercial building more efficiently. But already in the present, Ubiquitous Energy products are easily integrated into the walls of “smart houses” and increase their functionality. In addition, the design of the windows makes it easy to distribute electricity in the right directions and ensure maximum efficiency where it is needed.”Mr. Hardev concluded.
Demonstration of opportunities by example
The conference room at Ubiquitous Energy’s Redwood City headquarters is lit 24 hours a day. At first glance, this seems to contradict the unspoken code of energy savings in force in the United States. However, the sunny glass windows generate far more energy than the team uses in the conference room. And therefore it cannot be called wastefulness.
This conference room is the first test sample of the company’s innovative product. 10 square meters of solar windows in it supply energy to LED lamps, and the excess generation goes into a capacious battery. All electrical wiring is located inside the frames.
Initially, the light was automatically turned on only for a certain time, when people entered the hall. But since the windows produced a lot of excess power, and there was no provision for its output to other rooms, the team decided to switch to round-the-clock lighting.
The next phase of the company’s pilot program involved fully equipping two adjacent commercial buildings with transparent solar panels. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 epidemic has temporarily suspended the planned work. However, as a demonstration of the potential of the Ubiquitous Energy technology, Prof. Hardev noted that around 9 billion square meters of glass are installed annually around the world.
How much is it?
In the American “solar world” it all comes down to the price per kilowatt-hour. And for commercial consumers, electricity in the US is very expensive. As of the beginning of 2020, it averages $1.80 per 1 kWh. Ubiquitous Energy cost analysis shows that they are already in the $1.50 kWh range. In general, this indicator cannot be called low for the private sector, but it is beneficial for commercial consumers. In addition, the price includes the cost of the windows themselves and their installation, which allows you to quickly return your investment.
The high cost is associated with a relatively short service life of organic photovoltaics. However, this indicator for third generation panels is growing rapidly, and promises to make transparent windows profitable for widespread implementation in the near future.
Solar window problems
Over the years, solar companies specializing in the installation of photovoltaic panels have faced a number of important limitations. The main ones related to which roofs of houses could be fitted with classic panels – depending on the type of roof, its location and structures that could shade the cells. If the amount of solar insolation, according to the calculations, turned out to be insufficient, the installation of the system lost its economic sense. Solar windows still face similar obstacles.
However, since Ubiquitous Energy products absorb solar heat anyway, Hardev advises installing them anyway.
Firstly, it will allow you to receive some of the additional energy. Secondly, their presence will significantly save electricity in the summer for the operation of air conditioners. Thirdly, such windows themselves are more ergonomic than classic ones, which will help reduce heating costs in winter.
How do you plan to sell solar windows?
Current prices do not allow Ubiquitous Energy to count on the mass sale of its products today. Company leaders understand that reaching the national level takes time.
Ubiquitous Energy is currently planning to work with existing conventional window suppliers to train them to offer and install Ubiquitous Energy’s innovative designs. This will allow solar options to be sold as a standalone “premium” offering at major home improvement retail chains.
“Our vision and great mission is to bring this technology to the world and make it available to everyone, ” says Mr. Hardev.. “As with any new product, it will be more expensive in terms of cost at first. But as the scale of sales grows, we will be able to quickly reduce current prices. Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that anyone can get this technology.”
Is there a competition for solar windows and roofs?
Ubiquitous Energy does not see rooftop photovoltaic manufacturers as competitors. And it is not going to force solar farms out of the market.
“We believe that an energy-efficient roof is the best option for self-sustaining energy at home today ,” says Hardev. “But if you have windows, they should also be sunny.”