Transparent insulation - a new solar energy component

A survey of the recent history, present status and future outlook of Transparent Insulation Materials (TIM) is given. A number of different generic types of transparent insulation materials are either in the early stages of production or under development. The most important one today is bases on the honeycomb principle. Physical parameters presently achieved and expected improvements are outlined. Application of these materials in practically all thermal solar energy conversion systems is possible and leads to significant improvements. Most advanced is use in buildings for passive solar energy gain. Several pilot projects exist today demonstrating that good architectural solutions are possible. One advantage of the concept is that it can be applied to old as well as new buildings. Therefore, the potential for energy savings is very large. Other application of TIM are related to solar collectors. Highly efficient collectors have been realized. A new domestic hot water system based on T IM application will be on the market very soon. It combines the collector and the storage tank and can be fitted directly into the domestic hot water system. Other applications are under development and will be described in the paper.