Britain’s estimated 1 billion windows could become the power generators of the future, letting light through while harnessing solar energy. A Cambridge firm, Polysolar, which is manufacturing transparent solar panels, predicts that they could eventually replace conventional carbon emitting energy sources, such as coal and gas.
The company, which claims its solar PV glass is the first truly transparent alternative to solar panels, is inviting investors to buy a stake in the technology through a fundraising programme on CrowdCube.
A typical 1,200mm x 600m Polysolar glass panel can reportedly generate on average 5kWh of power each month (equivalent to half a day’s power consumption for the average home). According to Polysolar, if the Shard in London was fitted with its glass, it could generate as much as much as 2,500MWh/year, enough (when combined with a reduction in air-conditioning loads) to create a zero-carbon building or power the annual energy needs of 1,000 houses.
Currently, a typical panel will cost about twice the price of a conventional glass window, but when volume production begins, Polysolar says the price could fall to a 10% premium on the cost of conventional glass.
Installations to date are said to include the UK’s first solar powered glass bus shelter at Canary Wharf, petrol station canopies for Sainsbury’s, building facades and roofing for Network Rail as well as energy-generating domestic carports, conservatories, and greenhouses. One domestic trial featured a transparent glass roof to a garage and workshop that met the complete power needs of the owner’s electric car and home.
Hamish Watson, CEO of Polysolar, said: “We’ve invested over £1.5m to get where we are and we now have a commercial product, a huge potential market and an opportunity to make a contribution to saving our planet. It has taken time, effort, investment and science to make windows that generate power. There’s a clear market opportunity in every sense.”
Polysolar says it is supported by a Technology Strategy Board and leading materials and glass manufacturing partners. The firm claims that its technology has already been praised for its environmental and aesthetic benefits, that it has already won numerous awards and that its products are fully certified and warranted.
The company is now ‘poised’ to accelerate sales and manufacturing and has announced that secondary fabrication is being undertaken at Dagenham and Stirling in the UK to deliver cost effective solutions to the construction industry and consumers alike. The company already exports around the world and is investing in turnkey architectural solutions for its clients.
Hamish Watson added: “Ongoing concerns about global emissions targets make this a vital time for cleaner energy generation. Britain may not be renowned for predictable sunshine, but we know a thing or two about invention.”
