SolarWindow Shows ‘Invisible System’ for Transporting Electricity on Electricity-Generating Window

SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. announced an “invisible” system for transporting electricity within the company’s electricity-generating windows, currently under development for tall towers and skyscrapers.
 
The company’s SolarWindow generates electricity when its transparent organic coatings are applied in thin layers on to glass surfaces. The SolarWindow Intra-Connection System moves electricity within these electricity-generating coatings to the company’s previously developed “invisible wires.” In turn, these “invisible wires” transport electricity across the surface to the edge of the glass, where it’s connected to building electrical systems.
 
The company released high-power optical microscopy images, revealing elements of a SolarWindow Intra-Connection System that is virtually invisible to the human eye at approximately 50 micrometers (µm) wide. The average human hair is approximately twice as thick (100 µm wide) and the traditional approach produces intra-connections that can be as much as ten times thicker (up to 500 µm wide).
 
The Intra-Connection System creates a discreet pattern of microscopic channels, which allows for the efficient transport of electricity within SolarWindow.
 
Until now, conventional methods to form these intra-connections have utilized chemical or mechanical systems, which can be slow, unreliable, and prone to wear and tear. These traditional approaches also result in extremely wide and highly visible channels that are aesthetically unappealing and yield poor electron flow.
 
The SolarWindow Intra-Connection System doesn’t rely on chemical and mechanical systems. This proprietary approach also enables continuous, high-speed, high-volume manufacturing of SolarWindow products.
 
 “Today, we move forward in our quest to build skyscraper windows that generate vast amounts of electricity, in two important ways,” said John A. Conklin, president and CEO of SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. “First, for our customers, the aesthetic appeal of this type of electrical connection system that is practically invisible to the human eye is clear. Second, this innovation provides advantages in high-speed manufacturing that traditional approaches simply cannot compete with.”