Aesthetic Aerogel Window Design for Sustainable Buildings

Abstract

Transport of heat through windows accounts for more than 25% of heating and cooling losses in residential buildings. Silica-based aerogels are translucent with extremely low thermal conductivity, which make them attractive for incorporation into the interspaces of glazing units. Widespread incorporation of monolithic-silica-aerogel-based windows could result in significant energy savings associated with the heating and cooling of buildings. However, monolithic silica aerogels do not have the optical clarity of vision glass, due to light scattering by the solid matrix, and often have surface imperfections, both of which render these materials less appealing for glazing applications. Here, we demonstrate a variety of approaches to preparing aesthetically pleasing monolithic silica aerogel by a rapid supercritical extraction method for incorporation into glazing units, including: (1) process improvements that result in monoliths with higher visible light transmission; (2) innovative mold design for the preparation of uniform aerogel monoliths; (3) glazing designs that use thinner monoliths; and (4) the incorporation of artistic effects using dyes and laser etching to prepare glazing units with mosaic- or stained-glass-like patterns in which surface imperfections are perceived as features of the design rather than flaws.

Highly transparent silanized cellulose aerogels for boosting energy efficiency of glazing in buildings

“…Low-emissivity silver and other coatings allow for limiting the energy loss due to black-body-like electromagnetic emissivity originating from the room-temperature building's interior [5][6][7][8][9][10] , though they can capture only a fraction of escaping energy at a cost of deteriorating visible-range transparency. Aerogels, highly thermally insulating materials used in applications ranging from pipe insulation to a Mars rover [11][12][13] , have been highly sought after for applications inside IGUs as a solid material replacement for gas fillers [14][15][16][17][18][19] because they stand out as a class of materials capable of outperforming still air and other gas fillers as efficient thermal barriers [20][21][22][23][24] . However, aerogels are typically mechanically fragile and strongly scatter light 12,13,[25][26][27][28][29] .…”

In Operando μCT Imaging of Silylated Silica Aerogels during Ambient Pressure Drying and Spring-Back

“…They have an open porous network that makes up for more than 90% of their volume and show a very high specific surface area. , Several functional properties emerge from the aerogel’s unique structure, such as extremely low thermal conductivity, compressibility, and catalytic activity, and they can be exploited as a reusable sorbent to clean-up organic liquids. − Silica aerogels are among the most cost-effective to produce, and their syntheses and properties are well documented . There is a growing interest toward the industrial implementation of silica aerogel-based thermal insulators due to their high insulation performances and optical properties, notably allowing aesthetic incorporation in buildings. − …”

Prediction of thermal conductivity for polyimide nanofiber aerogel based on three 3D FEM models

“…Aerogel, including inorganic and organic types, is a porous material with high specific surface area, ultralow density, and low thermal conductivity value, which possesses wide applications in the field of heat insulation, air filter, energy storage, and other fields. [1][2][3] Silica aerogel, as a kind of inorganic aerogel, has the inherent fragile mechanical properties due to the bead skeletal nature structure which significantly limits its applications. 4 Therefore, the organic nanofibrous aerogels (NFAs) with excellent mechanical performance have attracted much attention.…”