College focuses on powered windows

WASHINGTON - Chinese scientists have developed a window material made from a thin film of see-through solar cells that could turn windows into miniature electricity generators.

The window-compatible material reported in a study published on July 3 in the journal Joule could potentially double the energy efficiency of an average household.

"Building-integrated photovoltaics are a great example of a market where silicon photovoltaics, despite their cheapness and performance, are not the most appropriate due to their dull appearance and heaviness," said the paper's senior author Yip Hin-Lap, a professor of materials science and engineering at the South China University of Technology.