Wouldn't it be great if your office window could generate enough electricity to power the copier, the coffee pot, or more? As a business owner, wouldn't it be cooler still if your building's windows paid for themselves within five years?
That's exactly the idea behind the new patent-pending solar windows that will be rolled out in the second half of 2010 by Pythagorus Solar, a company founded in 2007 by two Israeli scientist-entrepreneurs. Indeed, Israel, a Middle East nation without fossil fuels, is widely regarded as a world leader in solar energy innovation. One positive outcome of Israel having tenuous relationships with Arab neighbors may be the nation's firm determination to use alternative forms of energy.
In the industry, solar windows are more formally known as photovoltaic glass units (PVGUs); Pythagorus Solar will soon be offering their innovative, improved technology in architectural curtain walls, skylights, and windows.
The highly efficient – yet highly transparent – photovoltaic technology devised by Pythagorus Solar utilizes software models, optics, high-efficiency crystalline silicon, and advanced material science in creating solar windows that can generate up to four times the electricity as ordinary thin film photovoltaics while maintaining a high level of transparency for natural lighting and aesthetic appeal. At the same time, the Pythagorus Solar PVGUs block the sun's radiant heat so effectively in commercial building curtain walls that there is no need for tinting or window shades. These attributes factor into such considerable energy creation and cost savings that, according to the company, the PVGUs typically pay for themselves in less than five years.
To illustrate, the company estimates that their high-efficiency PVGU curtain walls installed in a 20-story, 750,000 square foot office building would generate 200,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, compared to just 50,000 kWh per year generated by photovoltaic film technology.
Potentially, the Pythagorus Solar high efficiency photovoltaic technology, when used in large-scale, commercial applications, could represent one of the most important, most significant steps toward net-zero energy use in building design.
The company reports that the market research firm NanoMarkets forecasts that the global market for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) will exceed $8 billion by 2015. According to investment partner Meir Ukeles of Israel Cleantech Ventures, "Pythagoras Solar's approach to building-integrated photovoltaics is unique and overcomes barriers to adoption for the architecture, engineering and construction community."
You can also watch the Pythagorus Solar video.
To bring this technology to market, Pythagorus Solar has partnered with Arkema, a Philadelphia-based chemical firm; China Sunergy, a Chinese photovoltaic cell manufacturer; and Flextronics, a Singapore-based manufacturer of electronics with operations in numerous countries.
Pythagorus Solar itself operates from offices in Israel, China, and San Mateo, California. The company was established in 2007 by two scientists, Gonen Fink and Dr. Itay Baruchi. Pythagorus Solar, as a venture toward NetZeroEnergyBuilding, may represent new career directions for both men. Prior to co-founding the solar technology company, Mr. Fink was a key executive for Check Point Software Technologies, a successful Internet security company. Mr. Fink is considered to be instrumental in the company's rise from a start-up to a multi-billion-dollar enterprise during his 12-year tenure. Prior to that, Mr. Fink served for seven years in the Israeli Defense Force's elite intelligence unit. He earned a bachelor of science (summa cum laude) in Physics and Computer Science and a master's degree in Digital Philosophy from TelAvivUniversity. His role in Pythagorus Solar is CEO.
Dr. Baruchi, who is the company's CTO, or chief technology officer, is a physicist who is responsible for innovating and implementing the technology for the solar windows and other building integrated photovoltaics. He previously worked on image improvement technologies for TV screens and on developing algorithms and laser imaging systems for automated, high-speed printing presses. However, it may be Dr. Baruchi's co-authorship of research on neurons cultured outside the brain that has won him the greatest accolades thus far. The research, which he conducted as a graduate student at TelAvivUniversity, along with physicist Eshel Ben-Jacob, was named one of the "50 Most Significant Scientific Breakthroughs" by ScientificAmerican magazine in December 2007.
As the Pythagorus Solar product line of window curtain walls, skylights, and windows inch their way into the markettplace, be assured that more photovoltaic architectural prodcuts are in the pipeline, including colored roof tiles and spandrel wall panels.
