CU’s pane eases pain of energy loss

BOULDER — A research group from the physics department at the University of Colorado Boulder has invented a new type of smart-window technology designed to dramatically reduce energy loss.

The technology, still in early-stage development, reduces energy waste by allowing users to hit a button and modify the kinds of light allowed into the window, depending on outside temperature. The switch controls an electric current that shoots through nanoparticles held in a liquid-crystal composite within the window glass.

Smart window technologies have been around for years. But the CU team believes its window marks a major advancement…