This Company wants your windows to generate power
[...] Ubiquitous Energy, a California-based company, understands the homeowner’s desire to have a home filled with windows, and they want to help on a national scale. Enter the solar, transparent window. [...]
How do solar windows work?
The current Ubiquitous Energy product is a 14 inch by 20-inch window. In the window industry, this is a significant threshold to be considered certified. This window size measures small for a typical commercial building window. But as Ubiquitous Energy’s small team grows, so will the windows and the overall production.
“The bulk of energy potential is in infrared. If the solar panel didn’t absorb visible light, what we see as color, then you could make a transparent device, but still, make power. Not as much as silicon (what rooftop arrays use), so it’s a trade-off, but if you can do it, the idea is you can put it anywhere.”
There’s still a lot to figure out how a solar window will power a home or commercial building. Currently, Ubiquitous Energy’s solar window has wires running through the framing and then locally powers an outlet.
Ideally, in new construction, the windows would power into the central electrical system of a home. Many new homes are being built as “smart” homes, which better equip the house to use features such as a solar window.
But for older construction, it can be more challenging to supply more than just local power near the window. The wire may only be able to run locally, or it could run-up to the roof. If a net meter approach is needed or a conduit is still being worked out.
“Most homes don’t have an energy power management system, but commercial buildings do, so we can reroute or direct power to your liking or optimize to best efficiency to where it needs to be used,” Hardev said. [...]
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What will it cost?
In the solar world, everything comes down to price per KWH, but Ubiquitous Energy considers itself as operating in the window industry.
Using data from the National Renewable Energy Lab, Hardev believes in comparison to commercial solar, which is typically around $1.80 kWh, Ubiquitous Energy’s analysis has them in the $1.50 kWh range.
“We like to think more of the way windows are priced,” Hardev said.
To start, Ubiquitous Energy’s solution would cost, all-in, between 10 and 30 percent more than a new window with a similar feature set, but did not have a power feature, but was energy efficient. While the windows would cost more upfront, the idea is customers would have a return on investment over time, as the windows start to produce their own power, reducing electricity, heating, and cooling costs for the customer. [...]
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