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Smart windows for future houses

On February 25, the radio SWH program “Prāts izglābs pasauli” (“Mind will save the world”) was dedicated to houses of the future. The host of the program, Ieva SIliņa, discussed the 3D house printer with the leading researcher of RTU Māris Šinka and smart windows with ISSP UL’s leading researcher and head of the Thin Films Laboratory, Juris Purāns. Participants also discussed high-strength concrete for construction that the RTU students are developing. An energy efficiency expert Anrijs Tukulis provided some practical steps to keep people’s electricity bills as low as possible.

In the program, experts talked about the smart houses of the future: windows protecting from cold, darkening in direct sunlight and acting as solar panels from one side and lamps from the other; houses printed from environmentally friendly and “green” materials; and future technologies that can help people today.

“Prāts izglābs pasauli” is a program hosted by Ieva Siliņa, innovation and digitalization advisor to the Minister of Economics, member of the Riga City Council, external advisor to the President of Latvia on science and education policy, and science enthusiast. The program’s creators believe that the mind and the latest technology will save the world; together with Latvia’s young and leading scientists, the program searches for answers to existential, topical or simply funny questions in a semi-serious atmosphere.

The full program in Latvian is in the Radio SWH archive here.