The assembly process for the small-scale VIG prototypes (500mm by 500mm) required a significant and sustained effort by two project partners, namely University of Ulster and SAES, culminating in the achievement of the project performance goals and the definition of a reliable process protocol ready for technology transfer for large scale production. The partners faced many challenges unforeseen at the outset, however, this research has generated extensive knowledge and understanding of the complex range and interaction of parameters required for VIG production.

A number of significant challenges have been encountered and addressed in the latter project months, namely the application and processing of the polymer-based resin edge sealant, the incorporation and activation of the gettering system used to maintain the required vacuum pressure over the glazing lifespan and sealing of the pump-out hole through which evacuation of the VIG is achieved.

To face the increasingly urgent need to reduce the energy demand in buildings, the Eensulate Project proposes a glazed façade system based on VIG technology coupled with a thermochromic coated glass, the EENSULATE curtain wall module.

Thermochromic thin film has become a recognized potential solution for the reduction of the solar radiation entering into a glazed system due to its intrinsic ability to modulate the solar heat gain of the glass as a function of its temperature. This “intelligent” property of the thermochromic film distinguishes the insulation nature of the window from any other passive solution, like VIGs that have the same degree of insulation whatever the ambient temperature. On the contrary, the thermochromic window has a dynamic behavior as it allows or not the solar radiation entering through the glazed facade depending on the temperature reached by the thermochromic coating. In fact, below a certain temperature, called switching temperature, the coating allows solar radiation entering the building while above this temperature the solar radiation is reflected outside preventing indoor overheating.

From previous investigations, it is known that thermochromic material properties (switching temperature, hysteresis gradient and width) can be altered through variation of synthetic route, mainly by acting on the material doping. However, no attention has been paid to how such alterations affect the overall building energy performance and the consequent savings attributed to the materials.

In May, the EENSULATE project participated in the Deep renovation joint webinar along with our sister projects Envision and P2ENDURE. The aim of the webinar was to raise awareness on the most innovative building renovation and energy-saving solutions and to present the technologies developed by three innovative projects co-funded by the European Commission in the framework of Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

More than 120 stakeholders attended the webinar! You can watch the whole recording here. If you would like to watch only the EENSULATE session, you can find the edited recording here.

Our partners from University College London have released a research paper called "High-Performance Planar Thin Film Thermochromic Window via Dynamic Optical Impedance Matching" in the ACS - Applied Materials and Interfaces Journal! You can download the paper here.