Dr. Edwin Tso and his research team (PhD students: Mr. Stanley Liu, Miss. Shirley Du, and Mr. Martin Zhu; Postdoc fellow: Dr. William Lee) recently participated in the 2021 International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN 2021) with their invention “An Intelligent and Thermally-responsive Window (ITRW) for Indoor Thermal Management and Energy-saving in Buildings”. The team won the Gold Medal, Canadian Special Award, and Best Invention Video Award in this fierce competition.

About the Award-winning Innovation
Nearly half of the thermal energy is gained or lost through windows, leading to that we need to waste a large amount of energy in air-conditioning systems to maintain indoor thermal comfort. Inspired by the photonic structure of the skin on the Chameleon, this smart window can change automatically change its color subject to the ambient temperature. In cold weather, the smart window is transparent, allowing the sunlight to pass through. When the ambient temperature increases above the window’s transition temperature, the window will become opaque, reflecting the incoming solar irradiance. Therefore, the indoor thermal environment can be smartly regulated in different weather conditions, saving around 10% total energy consumption of buildings. Most importantly, this technology contributes to the goal of carbon neutrality before 2050 in Hong Kong, benefiting both the environment and society.