Pythagoras Solar turns windows into panels of energy

June 28, 2011
Pythagoras Solar

Pythagoras Solar's "solar window" technology (credit: Pythagoras Solar)

Pythagoras Solar, a start-up based in San Mateo, California, is working on creating “solar windows” that could generate power for office buildings and shield offices from sunlight, thus reducing air conditioning costs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Thin horizontal rows of silicon cells embedded between dual panes of glass catch light from above. And through a trick of optics, the window blocks direct sunlight from entering the building. The Pythagoras window belongs to a class of solar equipment known as BIPVbuilding-integrated photovoltaics.

Pythagoras already installed some of the windows at Chicago’s Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower.