Power consumption of SPD or "smart glass"

[Stiganator]

I'm just curious how much power these guys use. Maybe solar panels could run them? Also curious if it is possible to have like a gigantic backup battery system for a house, like a ginormous UPS, without the need to a constantly running gas generator, electric generator I suppose.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Stiganator
I'm just curious how much power these guys use. Maybe solar panels could run them? Also curious if it is possible to have like a gigantic backup battery system for a house, like a ginormous UPS, without the need to a constantly running gas generator, electric generator I suppose.

They quote "less than 0.06W/sq.ft." on their website (on the "how does it work" page at www.smartglass.com). It shouldn't really be very much power; it's essentially an LCD panel without the color filters or backlight (or any electronics to drive it).

 

[Torched]

Yes it is possible to have a battery back up for your house. Get about 6 to 8 of these and a large DC to AC converter. Also you will need a large capacity battery charger.

 

[cheesehead]

.06w/sq ft. means that a 3x6 ft. window could drain a single NiMh AA battery (2000 mah) in about 2 hours, 12 minutes. Ten 3x6 windows would drain a standard 6 amp-hour sealed lead-acid (security system) battery in about six hours, forty minutes. (Both of these assume perfect effeciency in the controller circutry, of course, but most batteries of these types are slightly larger anyway.)
EDIT: A solar panel of under 10x10" would probbably work for a 3x6' window, as you only need a little over a watt. Of course, the amount of power you actually get varies, so I would go for at least three watts per window.