Windows With Water Reduce the Need for Cooling by 70%

and where does this cool water come from?

Seems like a decent idea (perhaps even use the hot water for heating/HW systems). What is the pump elec requirements vs. the AC? It seems maintenance on this sort of system would be a bear....so much for just replacing a pane of glass, now it a plumbing system too!

I agree that if the heated water can then be used to power something else or used in hot water applications, then it is a good idea.....

I assume this design would only be for hot weather climates. Where I come from in Upstate New York, the windows would crack as the water becomes ice. I can foresee a lot of hassle trying to drain the water from the window system, much akin to the autumnal project of draining the pipes in one's cabin before winter, lest pipes burst....

not fun...

Interesting idea but I wonder if there would be a problem with algae growing due to the sunlight?

What about in places that have roasting summers and cold winters. In winter the water would expand and break the glass, are you putting in some anti-freeze?

I imagine the water would need to be treated with some sort of anti-algae chemical, or the windows would all soon turn a lovely shade of green.

This is a very good idea, and if we're talking about using the heated water for other applications, that indicates that there is a drainage system. Wouldn't that same drainage system be able to remove the water for the colder months as well? IT would need to be done well in advance of freezing temperatures advancing, but it could be done in September, leaving enough time.

And what happends when some punk throws breaks the glass with a stone? :P

But by all means, the heated water should be used to heat water used in the building.

1) Cool water comes from nowhere. Water absorbs heat... it doesn't need to be chilled.

2) There wouldn't be enough heated water to do a whole lot. Perhaps the dishes =). As for it freezing, the simple solution would be to leave about 4% of the volume open.

Thank you Yeago for having some sense. Does seem like a good idea too, hopefully it gets used.

What about evaporation? That would be rather unsightly.

Or use anti-freeze mixture as we do in sprinkler systems up north. You could also add colors to change the appearance and decrease interior solar gain. Even program the plumbing to color different panels, create artwork, spell out advertising slogans...
OK, now I'm against it.

Um, simply use a low-powered pump to slowly circulate ground water and you'll have free chilled water probably close to 8 degrees cooler than air temperature in some climates.

Bonus!

The pump can be solar powered and integrated into the pane/frame.

Easy as pie, baby. Great idea :D

Yeah but if it froze in the winter I'm sure that would effect the clarity of the window. I mean if we aren't going to worry about actually seeing through windows why don't we replace them with something other than that may be more effecient to begin with.

Too bad if you want to open the window for a cool breeze...

It seems like they could add a substance to it that would keep it from freezing. You can put alcoholic drinks in a freezer without them freezing, why not apply the same concept here?

What kind of weight problems would this create for high-rise buildings with a lot of glass? 1 cm of water may not be much in one window, but it adds up to thousands of pounds of extra weight when you factor in the number of windows on some skyscrapers.

As far as freezing, they could use salt water or put some other additive in it to lower the FP. Salt water's not much lower than 0 degrees C, though...

Sounds like they are onto something! I sure wish I could cut my AC costs by 70%!

http://streetjesus.blogspot.com

Would the water even freeze if the inside of the building is heated and the water is constantly moving?

Yeago I'm confused by your response. I live in the gulf here water comes from gas fired desalinization plants. Water is getting rarer and more expensive in many parts of the world.

As for the passive solar heat capture you could then pass this water through a parabolic trough or some other passive solar to get it really hot. Just think of this as a pre heater. If your really smart you could even use the initial inbound water to cool are all the CPUs in the building.

Also my big question is what will they do with all the algae that is going to grow between the windows? Once you throw in some snails you basically have the old "I want to make my whole house an aquarium" concept.

Obviously the cool water does come from someplace... but it would likely need to be recirculated since if it was tap water, there would be lime scale building up between the glazings.

2) Anti-freeze

i agree with the freezing point because of the way water freezes and did they forget that water conducts heat from one side of the glass to the other better that air that means it is a bad insulator as long as it is not cooled by something

Unless I am reading this wrong, which I could be, the window has three pieces of glass that are all connected together on the left and right sides. The middle piece wouldn't be as tall as the two outer pieces. Only the two outer pieces are connected at the top and bottom; leaving a small gap. This way the water of the outside would heat up more than the water on the inside and rise while the water on the inside drops. This would create a small current of rotating water inside the window itself. No plumbing needed.

At least, that is my understanding.

You could probably design it so that the water heating up alone would be enough to circulate itself...

The water would probably have to be part of a closed loop system due to calcium and iron deposits in well/municipal water supplies.

I would think it would be fairly simple to have some sort of outdoor radiator/geothermal setup that could be fairly low energy. As for winter climates then perhaps something like placing the reservoir inside would prevent radiant heat loss to the outside. I'd think it would have the opposite effect though. (A liquid being denser than a gas and conducting heat more efficiently.) As for freezing it seems like some sort of clear anti-freeze would do the trick. Alcohol?

Hmm... Maybe a triple-pane window with the water layer between the inner and middle panes?

Interesting decorative possibilities here though. Colored water for dynamic window tinting, some sort of bubbler in the bottom of the window to make it frosted as for a bathroom window.

Also, what would happen when it's winter time? The water would freeze in colder places and then it would need to expand right?

I would think that a wall of this glass would have to be a modular setup. Meaning that you when you have to replace the glass, you just remove a framed section and insert another. Either way i think its an amazing idea.

Silver reflective window film absorbs/blocks up to 87% of solar heat. Doesn't leak either.

and how much light does this solar film absorb?

convection. thanks for playing.

Hi to everyone. I am one of the team who developed the idea. I want to thank all of you for your comments.

Although most of the negative things have been answered already, let me explained several issues that may solve some of the questions.

There should be 2 close loop circuits, the primary which will be circulating at each window (explained this way for simplicity) and that will have a heat exchanger, and the secondary that feeds the heat exchanger and is the responsible to control water temperature on the primary.

In places with average temperature between 5-18 ºC, cooling will be obtained from geothermal source (just dig on the ground) which is very cheap and endless. In cooler or warmer places, and to provide further controllability of the system, there is a heat pump device on the secondary that heats or cools the water flow of the secondary circuit to obtain the desired temperature from the geothermal temperature (just several degrees Celsius).
POST 1 of 4

To the question of the energy consumption of the pumps, it is a very minor figure, as in a closed loop circuit there is only the need to recover the pressure drop, about 4 W sq meter.

To the freezing question, if the system is working, the temperature of the water will be always the chosen one, so freeze will not be a problem. Anyhow adding to the water a anti-freezing additive solve the problem when the system is not working.

Algae growing on the water are tackled by using treated water and biocide. Anyhow we expect that some maintenance will be required as in Air Conditioning systems.

The windows are protected against leaks with valves. A broken window will shut the circuit itself and this window can be replaced and refilled.

The weight of the water is much lower than the weight of glass. The structure that holds the windows must be designed to hold the combined weight of the glass and the water.

POST 2 of 4

The ability to open windows depends on the structure that holds the windows. If you have open a car door, you can see the answer to this problem.

Lastly we have developed 2 different products, iThermglass with a triple glass with the outer being a gas filled chamber and the water flowing in the inner chamber.

Radiaglass is a simple double glass (security type to avoid breaks) that is to be used in inner partitions, ceilings or wherever heat losses to the exterior are not relevant (with geothermal energy).

Nobody has mentioned the acoustic protection that these windows will provide. We are also working in colour control to allow privacy and external illumination control and allowing architects and designers to have building that can change their colour.

POST 3 of 4

Finally, our system will replace the conventional heating and cooling system, so we will replace one installation with another that is simpler and more efficient.

If you are interested in knowing more, contact us at info@intelliglass.es . We plan to be in the market in Spain late 2008.

Thanks

POST 4 of $

what had crossed my mind many years ago when this idea came to me, was the magnification of the sun that water can create, I was bothered that it may have the potential to burn someone.

Bill Gates will sue due to copyright infringement on Windows with Water™, the original name of Windows for Workgroups 3.11

If in fact there is an energy recovery/reutilization strategy then it makes good sense. The old swamp coolers carried off a lot of heat as well, but they took water, away and that is a valuable commodity in hot arid climates. Could this technology be put forward into water distillation units?

Seems like a good idea, but can you add goldfish to the sealed units?