In the quest to make buildings more energy efficient, windows present a particularly difficult problem. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heat that either escapes or enters windows accounts for roughly 30 percent of the energy used to heat and cool buildings. Researchers are developing a variety of window technologies that could prevent this massive loss of energy.

“The choice of windows in a building has a direct influence on energy consumption,” says Nicholas Fang, professor of mechanical engineering. “We need an effective way of blocking solar radiation.”

Fang is part of a large collaboration that is working together to develop smart adaptive control and monitoring systems for buildings. The research team, which includes researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Leon Glicksman, professor of building technology and mechanical engineering at MIT, has been tasked with helping Hong Kong achieve its ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2025.

Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Photo Credit: AeroShield

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