Growing Impact

← Growing Impact1 Oct 2025 · 19 min

Energy saving smart windows

Energy saving smart windows1 Oct 202519 min

How do you keep a building comfortable without wasting energy? A Penn State team is tackling that question with an innovative smart window. Using a responsive polymer, the window can block visible light, infrared heat, or both—automatically, without sensors or electricity. The technology could dramatically reduce energy use in buildings while giving architects new freedom to design spaces that work with, rather than against, the sun.