In the near future, imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building (or home) they are part of.  MIT engineers are working on a new way to harness the sun’s energy that could allow just that.

This involves the creation of a novel “solar concentrator.” “Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges,”

As a result, rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells (the semiconductor devices that transform sunlight into electricity), the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell “by a factor of over 40,”

The system is simple to manufacture, the MIT team believes that it could be implemented within three years even added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50 percent for minimal additional cost. This would substantially reduce the cost of solar electricity.

For now this can be quite expensive, but for the long term of your home it is a big investment making your home energy efficient.  Combine this solar power tech with the current insulated windows, you can’t go wrong!