Overview

The building façade has traditionally been treated as a passive boundary-designed to separate indoor and outdoor environments while limiting unwanted heat gain, glare, and energy losses. In recent decades, advances in glazing, coatings, and shading technologies have significantly improved façade performance. Yet, despite these improvements, windows remain one of the largest contributors to cooling loads in modern buildings. This book explores a radical and emerging concept: the idea that windows themselves could actively participate in cooling buildings. Specifically, it examines experimental research into transparent cooling glass-often referred to as Solar Window HVAC-where quantum-scale films selectively absorb solar heat and, in theory, convert it into a cooling effect or usable thermal management pathway. It is important to clearly state that the technologies discussed in this book are not commercially available. They remain in early laboratory and research stages, with many unresolved scientific, engineering, and economic challenges. The purpose of this book is not to promote a ready-to-install solution, but to analyze the concept from an HVAC and building services perspective, evaluate its theoretical implications, and place it within the broader evolution of building envelope design. As HVAC systems move toward decentralization, electrification, and net-zero performance targets, engineers and designers must begin thinking beyond conventional equipment. The future of cooling may not rely solely on chillers, compressors, and air handlers, but on distributed, envelope-integrated thermal control mechanisms. Transparent cooling glass represents one such possibility-speculative, unproven, yet intellectually valuable. This book is written to encourage informed discussion, critical thinking, and technical curiosity. By understanding where current research is heading, HVAC professionals can better prepare for future integration challenges, avoid unrealistic expectations, and separate scientific potential from marketing hype.

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