Swedish researchers have just invented a new material. The transparent wood can replace the glass in window frames and facades, and it will still be possible to transform windows and walls of the house into solar panels. It’s a awesome, right?
Wood is one of the best and cheapest materials available today in construction. Besides being the most used material in different types of construction. It is a renewable resource material, which can also be used as demolition material.
“Transparent wood is an excellent material to replace glass in the manufacture of solar panels, since it is produced from an inexpensive, abundant and renewable resource,” words said by the Swedish researcher Lars Berglund.
When the lignin is removed from the wood, which is the natural component of the cell wall of the wood, it becomes white. The porous surface of the wood comes to be coated with a transparent polymer with optical properties. The result of all this is a natural wood blade, but with a totally transparent appearance.
In this research, the wood used was pine and balsa wood. But according to researcher Berglund, any wood can be used.
In colder regions, the use of this new wood can bring several benefits. It will allow the energy captured by the sun to be used to heat the house, thus reducing energy consumption.
These panels can still be used to build semi-transparent houses that have the purpose of exchanging light and energy with the external environment, while maintaining the inner privacy of the environment.
“We have already demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture transparent wood in a laboratory scale.” Now, it will be necessary to invest in commercial production of the new material and also to develop the technique so that in the next few years we can also transform the windows and walls of Houses in solar panels. ” – Lars Berglund.
