Methods to manage infrared radiation from the sun are widely used in buildings. For example, there are windows equipped with coatings that reflect the infrared radiation from sun in order to avoid a too high heating up of the inside of the building. Those coatings typically comprise thin metal films of copper, gold or silver, which are transparent for visible light and reflective for infrared light. A more advanced heat management is obtained by means of so called smart coatings. These coatings are based on thermochromic materials, which have reflective properties that change with temperature. In the winter these coatings are transparent for infrared light from the sun and in the summer these coatings reflect the infrared light. In this way the inside of the building is heated by the sun in the winter and not heated by the sun in the summer. Furthermore, there exist windows in buildings that are equipped with a conductive coating, such as for example indium tin oxide (ITO). By means of an electric current the window is heated thereby creating infrared radiation and thus heating the inside of the building.
JP-63297245 discloses far infrared radiation glass that generates and radiates intense far infrared radiation in a room to warm a room in high efficiency by forming a far infrared radiation layer on a plate glass. The disadvantage of this construction is that the same amount of heat is radiated to the outside of a building as to the inside of the building thus loosing approximately half of the infrared radiation.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds