Takenaka Corporation / Glass panels with both translucency and heat insulation will be on sale next year
Image of airgel glass panel (provided by Takenaka Corporation)
Takenaka Corporation and Shinko Glass Industry Co., Ltd. (President Shinji Shinkai, Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture) have developed a glass panel that has both translucency and heat insulation. A translucent granular material "airgel" with excellent translucency and heat insulation can be packed between glass plates to ensure the necessary translucency while maintaining heat insulation. We confirmed a 10-20% energy reduction compared to offices that used high-performance glass with blinds. We aim to commercialize it and sell it as early as next year.
The "airgel glass panel" has the airgel layer fixed with a translucent plate, and both sides are covered with glass plates. By passing air through the translucent plate, the airgel layer in a clogged state can be maintained even if the internal air expands due to the temperature rise. It has higher heat insulation performance than pair glass, and if the airgel layer is made thicker, higher heat insulation performance than triple glass can be obtained. Translucency can be adjusted by adhering white particles to the surface of the airgel. The visible light transmittance can be controlled to 9 to 35%, and the solar heat acquisition rate can be controlled to 15 to 40%.
The panel with a total thickness of about 45 mm was applied for the first time to the FM Center in the Hokkaido area of Takenaka Corporation, and its effectiveness was confirmed. The price is said to be the sum of high-performance pair glass using argon gas and automatic opening and closing blinds. In the future, we will develop products with a size of 35 mm to 45 mm that can be installed on conventional sashes. It will be introduced into various buildings and contribute to energy saving and promotion of decarbonization.
