Are Solar Windows Worth the Cost?

Anytime, I learn about a new technology, it's my "devil's advocate" brain that asks,? "Are solar windows worth the cost of installment?"? Also,? "Do they produce enough energy to be worth the cost?? Hefty questions given this relatively new technology.? Even though the idea became a reality at least 10 years ago, you don't hear of these being installed. At least I don't in sunny Arizona.

As always, the first part of this self driven homework assignment is to research this type of product.? I want to learn:

• How do they work??
• How much energy do they produce?

Solar windows are simple glass with a number of components within the glass that allow light to pass through but also to produce energy from the sun rays that hit the windows.? ?The components within the window allow the "photovoltaic cells and semiconductor technology inside the the panels to separate the electrons from the proton atoms."? They are sheets of glass with photovoltaic properties.? Yeah, we all knew,? that?!??

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Solar windows are clear glass, just like any other window and sometimes tinted.? But solar windows contain properties within the glass that deliver energy in the frame where a collector turns them into energy.? ?Invisible rays that are ultraviolet and infrared waves of light pass through the glass.? Those waves of light are converted into electricity. Window film can have those same properties.?

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As with all inventions, things improve.? Currently, solar windows produce about 5% of energy, MUCH LESS energy than the solar panels on your roof (20%.)? ?Realize that solar production depends on your weather and the number of sunny days.? So the same factors exist with solar panels as they do with solar windows.? Until the new technology hits the market that allows solar energy to be produced on cloudy days, there will be a disadvantage to living in cloudy states using either technology.

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And solar windows cost quite a bit more than standard windows.? Hopefully, solar windows will have as much or more of a tax credit and incentive than just window replacement in the near future.? Until then, replacing windows is listed as one of the items eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act.? The quote in today's zoom call was $85,000 for windows for a 2000 sq ft home, if memory serves correctly.? That's quite a bit more than a traditional set of windows.? I searched for the "cost of solar windows" but nothing surfaced, so this question can't be answered, YET!

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The return on investment for replacing windows is typically 17-20 years to recoup your investment.? Solar windows have a much higher rate of return.?

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And solar windows won't replace roof top solar as they don't produce enough energy, YET!? But they are a great addition as costs drop.

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