Windows become 'illuminating'

The project is underway OLEDWIND which sees collaborating ENEA with the Campania company Materials Ltd. to develop innovative organic light sources, OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), to be integrated into windows to illuminate the interiors of buildings in the absence of natural light. Thanks also to the use of economical and sustainable materials, the new devices will allow to reduce the cost of lighting and improve the living comfort of people.

“This new technology will enable the creation 'smart' windows which during the day will carry out the 'normal' task of letting natural light in, while from dusk onwards, thanks to the OLEDs embedded in glass, will maintain the desired level of brightness in the rooms", explains Maria Grazia Maglione, researcher of the Nanomaterials and Devices Laboratory at the ENEA Portici Research Center (Naples).

People spend a large part of their time inside buildings where natural light contributes only a minimal part to the necessary lighting. In general, homes, workplaces, public offices and schools use artificial light sources, such as fluorescent lamps (neon) and LEDs, which rarely replicate the spectral content and intensity of natural light. This has consequences on the living well-being and health of the occupants, especially in the case of prolonged presence in such environments. "Hence the need to rethink the lighting methods of living environments, using new types of light sources that are more similar to natural light, that is, produce diffused light, are not dazzling, have a spectral content that can be adjusted, but are also efficient, that is, low consumption, cost little, use easily available and sustainable materials, but also biodegradable and that at the end of their life are easily manageable and recyclable, therefore eco-friendly", adds Maglione.

In the first phase of the project, research will focus on the development of prototypes Semi-transparent OLEDs which involve the use of low environmental impact and eco-sustainable materials and processes, for their possible use in smart windows for interior lighting. “Here the collaboration with Materias Srl will concern the identification of materials, the improvement of some process phases and the evaluation of the results achieved to plan the development of OLEDs with improved performances”, underlines Maglione.

In a second phase, the emissive area and the general performance of the devices, including stability over time, will be increased. “This will allow us to interface with lighting companies potentially interested in new lighting solutions – a sector in which the Italian industry is among the first in the world – but also with manufacturers and installers of windows and doors, who would have the opportunity to present innovative windows with integrated OLED devices”, concludes Maglione.

OLED technology is configured as the evolution of Indoor lighting methods, thanks to the peculiar characteristics of the devices, such as: large light emission area with diffused light generation, thin and light devices, high efficiency, wide possibility of adjusting the color of the emitted light, thermal dissipation that does not require additional heat sinks and therefore low operating temperature, possibility of being made with low-cost processes and on flexible substrates, transparency, with the possibility of creating any shapes and geometries. In this regard, from the design point of view OLEDs allow us to think of light as matter and not just as a function, and therefore as a real architectural element, allowing for greater versatility in terms of design compared to LEDs, in line with the approach to new industrial production of “Made in Italy”.

The project  OLEDWIND has obtained funding of 46.500 euros from the “Proof of Concept” program implemented by ENEA for the development and transfer of technology to industry.

For more information: 

Maria Grazia Maglione, Nanomaterials and Devices Laboratory – ENEA, mariagrazia.maglione@enea.it
Aniello Cammarano – Materias Srl, aniello.cammarano@materias.it – www.materias.it