SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost, High-Performance, Vacuum Insulated Glass Window

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is technology to improve the efficiency of building energy consumption. Windows account for about 30% of building energy losses and 7% of US carbon emissions. Vacuum insulated glass (VIG) windows are 4-5 times more insulating than a typical double-pane glass windows and are almost as insulating as the surrounding walls. A low-temperature production method will make vacuum insulated glass much more affordable. Such highly efficient and low-cost vacuum insulated glass will enable replacement of widely used double pane windows thus reducing the building carbon footprint. This decrease in pollution is especially significant given the push for net zero energy buildings and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Major sectors that will benefit from such window developments are residential buildings, commercial buildings, and supermarkets (freezer/cooler doors). Market research indicates the VIG market is more than $25 billion.This SBIR Phase I project will develop low temperature, vacuum insulated, glass windows that dramatically reduce the production cost of the currently available vacuum insulated glass (VIG). Although vacuum insulated glass products are highly efficient and have been produced for more than 30 years, they have not found market acceptance due to very high cost and poor seal reliability. Current high temperature, VIG manufacturing processes are slow and require expensive vacuum furnaces resulting in high costs. The proposed flexible seal VIG manufacturing process is a low-temperature production method that is much faster, thus requiring much lower capital investment, bringing VIG costs much closer to that of double pane windows. The novel flexible seal design of the proposed VIG also improves long-term seal reliability by eliminating thermal expansion stresses experienced by current rigid VIG seals. The performance and long-term durability of small VIG samples made using the low-temperature seal were validated. However, scale-up must be demonstrated before successful VIG development. The current project aims to scale up the proposed VIG manufacturing process and subject full-scale samples to rigorous accelerated weather, temperature, impact testing. A secondary seal will also be developed to prevent it from weather and gas permeation to ensure 50+ years of window life.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.