Liquid solar blocker from Ontario’s Hy-Power Nano

Hy-Power Nano, mentioned in my Aug. 15, 2012 posting, has announced its first nanotechnology-enabled product and it’s a coating product for windows. From the Sept. 3, 2012 news item by Will Soutter item on Azonano,

Hy-Power Nano, the subsidiary of South Ontario-based [Canada] Hy-Power Coatings, engaged in developing nanocoating products characterized by thermal insulation and a solar blocking capability has introduced its first product labeled the Hy-Power Clear Liquid Solar Blocker.

The launch of the solar blocker represents a significant milestone in the company’s endeavors towards the development of nanotechnology-based coating products. The product was demonstrated in Mississauga at the International Conference Centre to a group of customers. The product is the output of two-and-a-half years of labor initiated after Hy-Power Nano President and CEO, Joseph Grzyb, envisaged the potential of leveraging their 46 years of expertise in industrial coating in combination with nanotechnology.

Hy-Power Nano’s Aug. 31, 2012 product announcement offers this comment from the company’s president, Joseph Grzyb,

“While we all love sunlight, ultraviolet (UV) rays can be damaging and infrared (IR) rays are a source of energy costs,” says Joseph Grzyb, President and CEO of Hy-Power Nano. “Our Clear Liquid Solar Blocker is so clear you can’t see it on glass, yet it blocks 99.99 per cent of UV and 40 per cent of infrared rays. Since the product is liquid-based, it can be applied on a variety of glass surfaces and geometries.”

“There are many applications for this product. For example, for retailers, that means products in windows won’t fade from sunlight while allowing customers a completely unobstructed view of the goods in the window. Skylights coated with our product allow people to enjoy the comfort and natural light without any negative impacts. There are actually quite a range of needs addressed by this product,” adds Grzyb.

There’s a lot of research interest in windows these days and it’s not just in Canada. This Aug. 27, 2012 Nanowerk Spotlight essay by Michael Berger offers an overview of some of the latest work,

Buildings and other man-made structures consume as much as 30-40% of the primary energy in the world, mainly for heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting. In particular, air conditioners are responsible for a large proportion of the energy usage in the US: 13% in 2006 and 10% in 2020 (projected) of the total primary energy. Air conditioning in China is 40-60% of a building’s energy consumption (the exact figure depends on the area of the building), and overall, accounts for 30% of the total primary energy available. These figures will grow very rapidly with urbanization development.

“Smart window” is a term that refers to a glass window that allows intelligent control of the amount of light and heat passing though. This control is made possible by an external stimulus such as electrical field (electrochromic), temperature (thermochromic), ultraviolet irradiation (photochromic) and reductive or oxidizing gases (gasochromic). These technologies save energy, address CO2 concerns, improve comfort levels, and have economic benefits.

One of these days I’d like to see a study or two about the occupational health and safety issues for people who produce and apply coatings such as this one from Hy-Power.

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