Richmond, Virginia: Industry analyst firm n-tech Research has just issued its latest global smart windows market report. In the report the firm notes that while the smart windows business has failed to achieve the revenues and market acceptance once predicted, the coming decade may finally produce what has eluded the space for so long. The growing global focus on reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions and meeting net zero mandates will result in demand for a range of technologies such as electrochromics, solar, sensors and software for building controls. Government mandates combined with incentives and development of advanced building materials and technologies will serve as powerful drivers which will, in turn, grow the smart windows market from around $300 million in 2021 to 2.6 billion in 2026.
Additional details about the new n-tech Research smart windows markets report are available at: https://www.ntechresearch.com/market-reports/smart-windows-market-opportunities/
Just over a decade ago, smart windows were seen as a viable technology and a market to invest in. But despite the messaging of improved energy efficiency and improvements to working conditions within offices, revenues and market acceptance failed to materialize. The huge amounts of money raised by electrochromic window supplier, View, showed that the smart windows market was a story about dreams and possibilities versus actual product sales and market growth.
In addition to net zero mandates that make smart windows a consideration, trends in smart cities and smart buildings and developments in materials/coating technology that will lead to even further improved cost/performance ratios in smart windows may offer additional hope to the sector. However, the report warns that if smart windows fail to take off in a smart windows/smart cities environment or are seen as less attractive than other carbon reduction technologies they will remain a niche business forever.
About the report:
This report analyzes and forecasts the worldwide smart windows market over the coming decade. The smart windows technologies that are covered include electrochromic glass, SPD (suspended particle device systems), PDLC and newer variants on liquid crystal; notably the new smart windows technology from Merck. The dominant smart windows technology is electrochromic (EC) and includes product offerings from Brite Solar, EControl-X, ChromoGenics, Finnglass, Heliotrope Technologies, Kinestral Technologies, Miru Smart Technologies, SageGlass and View. These and other prominent smart windows firms are profiled in the report.
This report goes further than other reports on smart windows opportunities by analyzing the specific opportunities for smart windows in office buildings, retail/stores, industrial buildings, multitenant buildings, single family homes, hotels and the hospitality sector, healthcare, airports (a particular favorite of the smart windows industry), educational institutions and greenhouses. We also provide a review of the status of smart windows in cars and aircraft. And this new n-tech report also includes a granular ten-year forecast for the revenues and volumes from smart windows shipments likely. Break outs of these forecasts are provided for major applications and technologies. The report also discusses the costs trends for the smart windows markets.
From the report:
- A strong driver for the renewed interest is that smart windows are being repositioned as part of an emerging smart building meme. This includes enabling integration with older building networking platforms such as Modbus, BACNet or (for more functionality) smart windows vendor proprietary networks. Taking this to the next stage smart windows will become part of edge networks in smart buildings or smart cities through the use of smart windows gateways.
- Smart windows become smarter with the use of more sensors and then AI. The report suggests that sensors will find extensive use for real-time tint. Smart windows are now expected to change on a real-time basis in response to weather conditions and without human intervention and more importantly without delay. AI may also be employed to get smart windows to respond to changing human behaviors. Factors such as when people switch on lights, when they take a break, type of work they do at a particular time, etc. can be fed into advanced algorithms for real-time tint. SageGlass already has a model-based, predictive algorithm along with exterior sensors that dictate the tinting of glass.
- We are seeing the beginnings of the next phase in the evolution of smart windows based on innovations in fabrication and materials technology. If these succeed, lower-cost EC glass will be established as an option in a broader range of buildings constructed without extravagant budgets. Another aspect to this is the role that China or other lower cost manufacturing centers will play both in electronics and units much like it has done with the solar industry.
About n-tech Research:
Founded in 2003 as NanoMarkets, n-tech Research provides industry analysis and market forecasting of opportunities presented by advanced materials and their application in energy, electronics and other cutting edge market segments. Leveraging the firm’s founders combined 70 years of experience, n-tech Research delivers carefully considered results to clients via its reports and services.
