Smart Windows: It's Curtains For Curtains; Why Land Rover is Powering Up Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Tech For What's Next.
Smart windows that double as TV display. Real estate watchers may have noticed a 40-story office tower in Manhattan (825 Third Avenue) retrofitted this month with View smart windows (www.view.com) that automatically adjust to sunlight intensity, minimize heat and glare, and reduce energy consumption. What’s really amazing is this smart glass does double duty as a high definition video display that can be used for videoconferencing, digital whiteboards or for just watching a film. View is focused on commercial properties like offices and hotels so it may be a while before you’re watching TV on your home windows. But that doesn’t mean that windows in your house have to stay dumb. Guazy uses polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLAC) integrated into the window pane that allow you to turn windows from clear to opaque in milliseconds using a smartphone app. (guazy.com) The tech isn’t limited to windows. Imagine its use in a glass partition between walls like one between a master bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, for example. Similarly, PriWatt Film upgrades existing windows with a coating that allows you to control transparency with a smartphone. (smartglasstech.com.) Smart glass development, especially in commercial buildings, is being accelerated as a response to the pandemic. It’s a lot easier to clean a glass surface than it is a window treatment. The day is not far off when it will be curtains for curtains.
Are lithium ion batteries for electric cars simply a transition tech toward hydrogen fuel cells? Or might the two competing power sources exist simultaneously? Those are the questions arising with the announcement that Land Rover will begin testing this year a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Defender that generates electricity from hydrogen fuel cells to power an electric motor. The only emission is water. The implication is that the limitations—range and recharging time—associated with batteries are not going to be resolved any time soon. The FCEV advantage is that it makes longer range and faster recharge times possible—a FCEV powers up about as fast as a gasoline car at the pump. FCEV also is more suited to cold weather temperatures that can suck the life out of batteries. For its part. Land Rover thinks fuel cells and batteries will likely co-exist, with FCEV appealing to those who want a larger vehicle or longer range or both. FCEV looks like a tech that may keep the love affair with big SUVs alive for quite a while longer. The Land Rover development timeline is unclear but the marque notes that forecasts show 10 million FCEV vehicles on the road worldwide by 2030. They will want a piece of that. (www.jaguarlandrover.com)
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