Pilkington Activ Self-Cleaning Glass
by TreeHugger on 12.23.04
Remember those old cartoons that showed what a breeze life would be in the House of the Future? Robotic arms would pop out of hatches to pet the dog, iron the clothes, wash the windows.... Well, after a trip to Massive Change in Vancouver, we’ve seen the future and it’s available now. Instead of clunky robot arms, it’s nanotechnology that will let your windows clean themselves: Pilkington Activ Glass is coated in a chemical layer that breaks down deposits of organic dirt (it helps with inorganic dirt, too) when exposed to the sun’s UV radiation. Then the grunge can be sheeted away by rain—a bit like the self-cleaning clothing we mentioned a while back. And before you tsk-tsk a window treated with chemicals, Pilkington says that...
...the substances in the glass are harmless, normal household chemicals, and the huge reduction in spray-and-wipe cleaning supplies adds up to a greener window. No water spots, either! The self-cleaning layer is fully bonded to the glass and shouldn’t flake or peel or otherwise leave you with a mess. You may still have to pet the dog and iron your clothes, but you can throw the squeegee in the recycling bin. Don’t you love it when going green lets you be lazy? US suppliers listed here. ::Pilkington [by KK]
Just how enviro is glass anyway? Check out our ecotip.
Not so fast.
It is recognised that substances at smaller scales can have different properties (thats what makes nanotech interesting after all) and therefore it is not true to assert that because these compunds are 'harmless, normal household chemicals' when in macro-format they are harmless in nano-versions.
A UK Select Committee recently advised (after hearing extensive evidence from many experts) that more should be done to regulate nano-tech, precisely because the fact that a chemical is safe at its usual size means nothing about its properties when found as a nano-particle.
They did note that fixed form nanoparticles (like those in the windows) were likely to be less problematic than free-floating ones (like ones in sunscreen).