Stained glass has long made for beautiful windows displays that you can enjoy whether you’re inside or outside the house. The Current Window, though, is no ordinary stained glass, with its glass panels actually serving as solar cells for harvesting sunlight.
Designed by Marine Duroselle, the window comes with a vertical zig-zag pattern that, while not quite as ornate as most stained glass windows, does make for an attractive sight. The same technology used in the panels can be employed for more complex designs, too, so it should be possible to replicate any stained glass window design with a corresponding solar-charging alternative.
The Current Window, a design prototype, is made using dye-sensitized solar cells, a low-cost, thin-film solar cell that bears a variety of features ideal for plenty of unique applications. The window is hooked up to a power generation system housed inside the window ledge, which it feeds to an onboard battery where you can charge mobile gadgets via USB. There aren’t much details on the hardware used in the solar generator, although it should be no more complex than conventional generation systems.
While a solar-charging window system does sound attractive for homes (who doesn’t like free power?), stained glass doesn’t exactly make for an ideal window in residences. Unless you prefer being a shut-in with no natural sunlight inside the house, that is.
Check out the link below for more details on the Current Window.