Smart Window as a Sustainable Energy Technology for Decarbonization-Recent Innovations

Now a day, the building industry is a prime contributor to global energy consumption majorly driven by non-renewable sources, therefore accountable for sustainable greenhouse gas emissions. Due to this reality the effective decarbonization strategies are on high demand. Some of the major solutions include green and sustainable building design, integration of renewable energy grids, carbon capture and storage technologies are in high demand. Among all these emerging solutions, smart windows have gained notable attention for their potential to enhance energy efficiency and enable on-demand optical control that dynamically regulate light transmittance. This review deals with recent advances and developments in four major categories of smart windows such as electrochromic, thermochromic, photochromic, and gasochromic systems with particular emphasis on functional materials, device design, and performance optimization strategies of all four categories. By integrating these developments, this review offers a comprehensive understanding of smart window technologies and outlines future directions for their development in sustainable building applications