The projects are a part of ARPA-E’s Single-Pane Highly Insulating Efficient Lucid Design (SHIELD) program, which aims to accelerate the development of materials capable of reducing half the amount of heat lost through single-pane windows.
The funding will be used by the SHIELD project teams to develop new window coatings and windowpanes with potential to improve the energy efficiency of existing single-pane windows in commercial and residential buildings.
ARPA-E director Dr Ellen Williams said: "By creating novel materials to retrofit existing single-pane windows, SHIELD technologies can dramatically improve building efficiency and save energy costs for building owners and occupants."
The 14 projects will develop applied products and manufactured windowpanes, which can be installed into the existing window sash that holds the windowpane in place.
In addition to improving thermal insulation and reducing condensation, the new window technologies could also produce corollary benefits, such as improved soundproofing, that will make retrofits more desirable.
Of the total $31m funding, $8m has been allotted to three small business projects through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
The projects include NanoSD’s Retrofittable and Transparent Super-Insulator for Single-Pane Windows technology.
Other selected projects include University of Colorado Boulder’s Advancing Insulation Retrofits from Flexible Inexpensive Lucid Materials (AIR FILMs) for single-pane windows.
