New 'Smart' Window Coating Could Help Heat or Cool Homes
Researchers at the University of Oxford have collaborated with industry experts to develop an adaptable smart window technology that could reduce the energy usage of an average home by up to a third.
The new glass has a spectrally tuneable low-emissivity coating that uses a phase change material to control the amount of heat that comes into the room from the window, without affecting the quality of the light.
The thermal energy from the sun's infrared rays is absorbed by the glass and re-emitted as heat – either used to warm the room using transparent electrical heaters in the glass, substrate or reflected away to cool the room.
Dr Nathan Youngblood, formerly at Oxford and now at the University of Pittsburgh, said: "These windows can change according to seasonal needs. They absorb near infrared-light from the sun in the winter and turn it into heat for the inside of a building. In the summer months, the sun can be reflected instead of absorbed."
Heat Pump vs Gas Boiler: How do They Compare?
Weighing up a heat pump vs gas boiler? Our expert guide will guide you through the differences and how to make the right choice for your home
In the heat pump vs gas boiler debate, you're looking at very different technologies that are effectively delivering the same result: hot water and central heating. That's pretty much where the similarities end.
With the government heralding both air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps as the successors to gas boilers as part of its Boiler Upgrade Scheme, it's the right time to be weighing up your options and how these two systems compare.
Here are some answers to the key questions about using heat pumps instead of gas boilers
UK households are being offered £5,000 grants to replace gas boilers with low carbon technologies as part of efforts to cut emissions from heating.
Here are some answers to the key questions about one of the main technologies we could use instead of gas boilers.
What is a heat pump?
An air source heat pump looks like an air conditioning unit on the outside of buildings, and it works a bit like a fridge in reverse, using electricity to extract energy from the outside air to provide heating and hot water for homes.
There are also heat pumps that draw energy from the ground or water.
Because they are extracting heat from the environment – which they can do even at low outside temperatures – they produce around three times the energy they use, making them much more efficient than a gas boiler.
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