MAESDOSO focused on fast-growing demands for energy-efficient and cost-effective technologies in home-appliances. The electric ovens take the lead of energy consumption in all households due to rather low efficiency of about 10-12 % relative to the power input. In 2017, the Official Journal of the European Union published the regulations regarding eco-design requirements for domestic ovens, hobs and range hoods. These regulations set requirements for: energy efficiency, performance and product information. The eco-design requirements for domestic ovens, hobs and range hoods are expected to result in annual primary energy savings of 27 PJ/a in 2020 that will increase up to 60 PJ/a by 2030. With more efficient cooking appliances, Europe will also be able to save around 1% of the annual energy consumed by households by 2030. This means around 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 avoided annually by 2030 – about the annual emissions of four medium size power plants. Motivated by the benefits of electrochromic devices (ECDs) for significant energy savings from reduced heating and cooling loads in the buildings, this project aimed to develop electrochromic devices for use in domestic ovens.
Competition between inorganic and organic electrochromic materials to fulfil the requirements of the market have been known for many years. Although inorganic materials have been preferred because of their stability and longer life time than organic ones, they do not offer color variability as much as organic materials do. The evolution of the field of electrochromic organic materials as replacements for inorganic in electrochromic technology has been fueled by the flexibility in fine tuning of the color by chemical synthesis and the application of them on flexible, foldable substrate. These features are appealing for wearable and futuristic technologies, and hence serve to revolutionize electrochromic applications. The main goal of MAESDOSO is to develop electrochromic devices for use in domestic ovens to reduce heat losses through the door glass. Better stability at high temperature, faster switching time and better coloration efficiency as outcomes of MAESDOSO will push the trigger to transfer the electrochromic technology in developing devices for household appliances.
MAESDOSO aiming to bring organic electrochromic materials in white goods to contribute the design and development of eco-friendly, functional and aesthetic products. The use of organic electrochromic materials in white good will change the way that the society interacts with electrochromic technology and maximize the positive impact of this technology on society.
Core of the achievement is a novel transparent electrode with low-E character to enhace the reflection of infrared radiation: “Silver Island: Hierarchical Metal Structure for Stable Transparent Conductor with Low-E character”.
To achieve this property, profile several scientific and technical steps had to be accomplished successfully:
synthesis of monomer to obtain electrochromic polymer
developing a hybrid electrode that shows low-E properties and homogenize the electrical field
electrodeposition of polymer on developed TCO and commercial TCO electrodes
obtain a thermally stable gel electrolyte to laminate two electrodes to finalize the fabrication of the ECDs
evaluate the emissivity properties of ECDs
For the measurement of reduction in heat loss through a glass door of oven, prototypes have been constructed by modifying turbo oven doorframes. It was found that the heat losses through the door glass blocked by integrating an ECD into an oven door. Electrochromic technology based on organic materials not only allows the control of heat and light transfers but also responds to aesthetic demands in the application field.
