IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,437,741
Granted Patent B2
US 12,437,741 · App. 18/342,339 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Energy efficient soundproofing window retrofits

Inventors: Evelyn N. Wang (Cambridge, MA); Gang Chen (Carlisle, MA); Xuanhe Zhao (Allston, MA); Elise M. Strobach (Clear Lake, WI); Bikramjit S. Bhatia (Cambridge, MA); Lin Zhao (Revere, MA); Sungwoo Yang (Chattanooga, TN); Lee A. Weinstein (Somerville, MA); Thomas A. Cooper (Boston, MA); Shaoting Lin (Cambridge, MA)
Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
G10K11/168B32B7/027B32B7/12B32B9/045E06B9/24B32B2255/10B32B2255/20B32B2305/026B32B2307/102B32B2307/304B32B2307/412B32B2307/54B32B2307/546B32B2307/72E06B2009/2417
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,437,741
App. No.
18/342,339
Granted
Oct 7, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Described herein are window retrofits including a monolithic silica aerogel slab having (i) an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 and (ii) a U-factor of <0.5 BTU/sf/hr/° F., and a transparent polymer envelope sealed at an internal pressure of ≤1 atmosphere, wherein the monolithic silica aerogel slab is encapsulated in the transparent polymer envelope. The monolithic aerogel slab can have a transmittance>94% at 8 mm thickness. The window retrofit can be bonded to a glass sheet.

Claims (49)

1. An article, comprising:

a first sheet comprising glass; and

a slab comprising an aerogel comprising silica, wherein the slab is bonded to the first sheet, and wherein the slab is transmissive to at least some visible light.

2. The article of claim 1 , wherein the article comprises an insulated glass unit (IGU).

3. The article of claim 1 , further comprising a second sheet comprising glass bonded to the slab.

4. The article of claim 1 , further comprising a second sheet comprising glass positioned adjacent to the slab.

5. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab comprises a mean particle radius of less than or equal to 2 nm.

6. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab comprises a mean pore radius of less than or equal to 10 nm.

7. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13.

8. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab further comprises nanoparticles configured to modify the transmission spectra of solar radiation.

9. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a density greater than or equal to 0.05 g/cm 3 and less than or equal to 0.25 g/cm 3 .

10. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a mean scattering radius of less than or equal to 5 nm.

11. The article of claim 1 , wherein the article has a U-factor less than or equal to 0.5 BTU/sf/hr/° F. at an external temperature of −15° C.

12. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a porosity of greater than or equal to 90%.

13. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a specific surface area greater than or equal to 500 m 2 /g and less than or equal to 1000 m 2 /g.

14. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has an average sound transmission loss of greater than or equal to 10 dB at a frequency greater than or equal to 50 Hz and less than or equal to 1600 Hz.

15. An article, comprising:

an aerogel portion of the article comprising silica; and

a first glass portion of the article, wherein

the first glass portion is bonded to the aerogel portion, and

the aerogel portion has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at an aerogel thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm.

16. A method, comprising:

bonding a slab comprising an aerogel comprising silica to a first sheet comprising a transparent material to produce an article, wherein the slab is transmissive to at least some visible light.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein bonding comprises forming the slab on the first sheet such that the slab and the first sheet are bonded.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the transparent material comprises glass.

19. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm.

20. The article of claim 19 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 80% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 400 nm and less than or equal to 700 nm.

21. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm.

22. The article of claim 21 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 80% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 400 nm and less than or equal to 700 nm.

23. The article of claim 1 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm.

24. The method of claim 16 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 80% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 400 nm and less than or equal to 700 nm.

26. The method of claim 16 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 80% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 400 nm and less than or equal to 700 nm.

28. The method of claim 16 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm.

29. An article, comprising:

a first sheet comprising glass; and

a slab comprising an aerogel comprising silica, wherein the slab is bonded to the first sheet, wherein the slab comprises at least one of the following characteristics:

the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm;

the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm; or

the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 1100 nm;

the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm; or

the slab has a solar weighted transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% measured at a slab thickness of 8 mm.

30. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm, the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm, and the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 1100 nm.

31. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm, the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 1100 nm, and the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm.

32. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 1100 nm, the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm, and the slab has a solar weighted transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% measured at a slab thickness of 8 mm.

33. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab has a transmittance greater than or equal to 70% at at least one wavelength greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 780 nm, the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm, and the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm.

34. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% at a wavelength of 600 nm, the slab has a solar weighted transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% measured at a slab thickness of 8 mm, and the slab has an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm.

35. The article of claim 29 , wherein the slab bas an average haze value of <5% as calculated in accordance with ASTM standard D1003-13 when measured at a slab thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm, the slab has a transmittance of greater than or equal to 70% at all wavelengths greater than or equal to 360 nm and less than or equal to 1100 nm, and the slab has a solar weighted transmittance of greater than or equal to 95% measured at a slab thickness of 8 mm.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 22, 2024
From: WANG, EVELYN N.; CHEN, GANG; ZHAO, XUANHE; STROBACH, ELISE M.; BHATIA, BIKRAMJIT S.; ZHAO, LIN; YANG, SUNGWOO; WEINSTEIN, LEE A.; COOPER, THOMAS A.; LIN, SHAOTING
To: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Reel/Frame 066525/0330 →
Continuity (5)
Continuation 17507491 · Oct 21, 2021
Continuation 16394447 · Apr 25, 2019
Provisional Application 62662417 · Apr 25, 2018
Related Publication 20240144904A1 · May 2, 2024
Related Publication 20250182731A9 · Jun 5, 2025
References Cited (107)
US 4610863A · Tewari et al. · 1986 [cited by applicant]
US 5683764A · Alts · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 6492014B1 · Rolison et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 8256910B2 · Odhner · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 9022020B2 · Mills et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9102076B2 · Doshi et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 10889501B2 · Chen et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11170750B2 · Wang et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11749247B2 · Wang et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11851334B2 · Chen et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20040029982A1 · Erkey et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20060059852A1 · Toas et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20080229704A1 · Augustyniak et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090029147A1 · Tang et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100186333A1 · Miller · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110120031A1 · Scherba · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20120279492A1 · Spinelli et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130106008A1 · Ahn et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140065329A1 · Showers · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150053266A1 · Chen et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20170010023A1 · Slocum et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170022106A1 · Buttner et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170022345A1 · Dufour et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170022703A1 · Buttner et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180093456A1 · Van Overmeere et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190100439A1 · Chen et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190333490A1 · Wang et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
CN 201416371Y · 2010 [cited by applicant]
CN 201835403U · 2011 [cited by applicant]
CN 201883601U · 2011 [cited by applicant]
CN 202000514U · 2011 [cited by applicant]
CN 202000548U · 2011 [cited by applicant]
CN 102536061A · 2012 [cited by applicant]
CN 202430882U · 2012 [cited by applicant]
CN 202467537U · 2012 [cited by applicant]
CN 104556969A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 104762007A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 104946058A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 205117129U · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 105565843A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 105566583A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 205736249U · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 106747562A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
CN 107416848A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
DE 4201306A1 · 1993 [cited by applicant]
EP 0884376A2 · 1998 [cited by applicant]
EP 1033354A1 · 2000 [cited by applicant]
EP 2927194A1 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
EP 2522927B1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
GB 2481693A · 2012 [cited by applicant]
GB 2488374A · 2012 [cited by applicant]
GB 2506430A · 2014 [cited by applicant]
JP H08187817A · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP H1130085A · 1999 [cited by applicant]
JP H11333982A · 1999 [cited by applicant]
JP 2004183330A · 2004 [cited by applicant]
JP 2008045013A · 2008 [cited by applicant]
JP 2012140767A · 2012 [cited by applicant]
JP 2017039845A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO1992020623A1 · 1992 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2005110919A1 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2008110818A1 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2009094280A2 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2011120031A2 · 2011 [cited by applicant]
WO WO201416371A1 · 2014 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2014090790A1 · 2014 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2014199279A1 · 2014 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2015151371A1 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2016203260A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017090686A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017147463A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017185009A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO201835403A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
“Aerogel insulation for buildings,” accessed Oct. 22, 2018 at https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Aerogel_insulation_for_buildings, 4 pages. [cited by applicant]
Berardi, “Development of Glazing systems with silica aerogel,” Energy Procedia, vol. 78 (2015) pp. 394-399. [cited by applicant]
Buratti et al., “Experimental Performance Evaluation of Aerogel Glazing Systems,” Applied Energy, vol. 97, (2015), pp. 430-437. [cited by applicant]
Case, “Better windows with aerogels,” Chemistry World, (2016) at http://www.chemistryworld.com/news/better-windows-with-aerogels/1010158.article, 3 pages. [cited by applicant]
Cohen, “Thermal properties of advanced aerogel insulation,” Thesis (S.M.)—Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (2011), 79 pages. [cited by applicant]
Dhalla, Investigating Thermal Bridging in Window Systems Insulated with Monolithic Silica Aerogel. Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, A MRP presented to Ryerson University, (2015), 87 pages. [cited by applicant]
Dillon, “Inexpensive Aerogel Panes for Window Retrofit for ARPA-E Shield Project,” http://www.cleantechnotes.org/category/clean-energy-technologies/, Clean Energy Technologies, Posted on Fraunhofer CSE Website http://cs… [cited by applicant]
Dorcheh, et al., “Silica aerogel; synthesis, properties and characterization,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 199, Issues 1-3, Apr. 1, 2008, pp. 10-26. [cited by applicant]
Dowson, “Novel Retrofit Technologies Incorporating Silica Aerogel for Lower Energy Buildings,” Brunel University, School of Engineering and Design, Sep. 2012, 314 pages. [cited by applicant]
Ganobjak, et al., “Possibilities of Aerogels Application for Architectural Heritage Conservation,” CISBAT (2015), pp. 51-56. [cited by applicant]
Gao, et al., “Perspective of aerogel glazings in energy efficient buildings,” Building and Environment, vol. 95, (2016), pp. 405-413. [cited by applicant]
Garnier, et al., “Super insulated aerogel windows: Impact on daylighting and thermal performance,” accessed Oct. 22, 2018 at https://www.infona.pl/resource/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-40498eb7-4f4f-3990-bef4-8d5e68ebc1b0, … [cited by applicant]
Heinemann, et al., “Radiation-conduction interaction: an investigation on silica aerogels,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 39, No. 10, (1996), pp. 2115-2130. [cited by applicant]
Hermann, et al., “Retrofit measures for historic buildings and cities,” This article originally appeared in Context 142, published by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in Nov. 2015, pp. 29-31. [cited by applicant]
Hunt, Light Scattering Studies of Silica Aerogels, Published 2010, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 16 pages. [cited by applicant]
Ibrahim, et al., “Performance evaluation of buildings with advanced thermal insulation systems: A numerical study,” Journal of Facade Design and Engineering 4 (2016), pp. 19-34. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT/US2017/019415, mailed on Aug. 14, 2017, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT/US2019/029105, mailed on Sep. 18, 2019, 16 pages. [cited by applicant]
Lamonica, “High-tech aerogels wrap homes with insulation,” accessed at https://www.cnet.com/news/high-tech-aerogels-wrap-homes-with-insulation/, (2010), 4 pages. [cited by applicant]
Licholai, et al., “Possibilities of the Aerogel Application in Building,” Lviv Polytechnic National University Institutional Repository, http://ena.lp.edu.ua, (2013), 5 pages. [cited by applicant]
McEnaney et al., “Thermoelectrics and aerogels for solar energy conversion systems,” download on Feb. 22, 2017, https://dspace.mit.edu/handel/1721.1/97770, 3 pages. [cited by applicant]
Nordgaard et al., “Modelling of Flat-Plate Collectors Based on Monolithic Silica Aerogel,” Solar Energy, vol. 49, Issue 5, Nov. 1992, pp. 387-402. [cited by applicant]
Nusca, Super-insulating aerogels promise to make homes more energy-efficient, accessed Oct. 23, 2018, https://www.zdnet.com/article/super-insulating-aerogels-promise-to-make-homes-more-energy-efficient/, 5 pages. [cited by applicant]
Pan, et al., “A fast synthesis of silica aerogel powders-based on water glass via ambient drying,” https://link.springer.com/journal/10971, Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, (2017), vol. 82, Issue 2, pp. 594-60… [cited by applicant]
Reda, et al., “Solar Position Algorithm for Solar Radiation Applications,” Technical Report, NREL/TP-560-34302 (2003), Colorado, pp. 40. [cited by applicant]
Schultz, et al., “Super insulating aerogel glazing,” Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, vol. 89, (2005), pp. 275-285. [cited by applicant]
Shukla, et al., “Aerogel for Thermal Insulation of Interior Wall Retrofits in Cold Climates,” In: Buildings Enclosure Science & Technology (BEST3) Conference, Atlanta, GA: BEST, (2012) pp. 1-12, Available at: https://c.… [cited by applicant]
Svendsen, “Solar collector with monolithic silica aerogel,” Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, vol. 145, Dec. 1992, pp. 240-243. [cited by applicant]
Tamon et al., “Control of Mesoporous Structure of Silica Aerogel Prepared from TMOS,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, vol. 188, Issue 1, Apr. 1, 1997, pp. 162-167. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Department of Energy, Concentrating Solar Power Commercial Application Study: Reducing Water Consumption of Concentrating Solar Power electricity Generation, Report to Congress, (2008), pp. 35. [cited by applicant]
Weinstein et al., “Concentrating Solar Power,” Chemical Review, vol. 115, Oct. 2015, pp. 12797-12838. [cited by applicant]
Zhang, et al., “Synthesis, Structural and Thermal Properties of Nano-porous SiO2-based Aerogels,” Advances in Nanocomposites—Synthesis, Characterization and Industrial Applications, (2011), pp. 39-60. [cited by applicant]
Jensen et al., “Development of windows based on highly insulating aerogel glazings,” J. of Non-Crystalline Solids 350:351-357 (2004). [cited by applicant]
Rhine et al., “Highly Insulating Windows with a U-value less than 0.6 W/m2K,” Final Report Sep. 30, 2003-Nov. 30, 2008, Work performed under contract No. DE-FC326-03NT41950, Aspen Aerogels, Inc., 102 pgs (2008). [cited by applicant]