| 20080236654 | WINDOW CONSTRUCTION COMBININB NiMH TECHNOLOGY AND SOLAR POWER - A building has a plurality of rooms, each including an exterior window construction incorporating thin-film photovoltaic system for converting solar energy into electrical energy. A controller in each room is operably connected to the photovoltaic system and to the building's power grid and to any electricity-using devices in the rooms. The controller is programmed to provide a self-sustaining modular system where, when the building power grid loses power, each room becomes an independently self-powered system and has battery recharging capability. The window construction includes a mullion, a thin-film photovoltaic system incorporating a glass pane supported by the mullion that permits visibility through the glass pane, and a Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) battery positioned in the mullion and operably connected to the photovoltaic film for recharging from electricity generated by solar power on the photovoltaic film. | 10-02-2008 |
