Organic photovoltaic (OPV) company NEXT Energy Technologies has completed the first commercial application of its transparent PV windows. Six windows, each measuring 40 by 60 in. for a total of 100 ft2, were installed at NEXT’s headquarters in Santa Barbara, California. This is the first building-integrated PV (BIPV) facade featuring the OPV coatings developed by NEXT.
Each insulating glass unit incorporates NEXT’s OPV coating on the outboard lite and runs cables through the framing system. The high-performance windows were fabricated with Low-e coated inboard lites and spacers supplied by Viracon. Walters & Wolf designed, supplied and installed the framing system as part of the facade integration, showcasing NEXT’s seamless integration into the window fabrication supply chain. NEXT has been working with Walters & Wolf for a few years now.
“The successful scaling of NEXT’s OPV technology, both on glass and in facades, takes NEXT and the industry closer to a future of sustainable building design,” said Daniel Emmett, CEO, Executive Chairman, and Co-Founder of NEXT. “We’re incredibly proud of the quality of the coating, the seamless installation, and the power generation performance we’re already seeing from this first facade installation.”
Installed at the company’s headquarters, the windows now offer architects, developers and industry stakeholders a real-world demonstration of NEXT’s aesthetic, energy-producing glass. Visitors can see the seamless integration of solar technology into a standard commercial facade and observe firsthand how the system generates power while maintaining transparency and design flexibility.
“This is the first of many,” added Jonathan Hafemann, NEXT’s VP, Commercialization & Growth. “We’re thrilled to share this tangible demonstration of our vision for energy-generating facades, and to invite the industry to imagine what’s possible when windows do more than just manage heat gain and U-Value.”
NEXT’s transparent OPV technology enables commercial windows to generate solar energy, turning building facades into on-site power sources. This innovation supports greater energy efficiency, generates clean power at the point of use, enhances building resilience, and helps improve grid efficiency.
The company claims that a NEXT OPV facade can generate enough electricity to offset approximately 20-25% of the energy consumption typical of commercial properties while leveraging the existing infrastructure of a commercial facade. By capturing and converting infrared light, the windows also help lower indoor cooling demands, easing the load on HVAC systems.
News item from NEXT
What is the peak output in watts for this installation?
They won’t explicitly reveal that information, but other companies making similar window products have estimated their products make 200 Wh each day. Not huge power producers.