Solar Window Pilot Project Installed in Chicago's Willis Tower

Pythagoras Solar, a provider of unprecedented transparent, energy efficient windows that also generate solar power, today announced that it has been chosen by Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, to collaborate on a pilot project to help deliver on the building's renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement goals.  The pilot project, deployed in November last year on the south facing windows of the Willis Tower's 56th floor, uses a building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solution that has the potential to expand to a surface area allowing over two megawatts of solar power generation.

Willis Tower provides an example of how sustainable modernization endeavors are about more than reducing carbon emissions but also about re-investing in the local economy.  Willis Tower is exploring innovative solutions that are directly re-investing in Chicago's new green economy.  In addition, this project will illustrate one possible best practice for how to decrease the impact of the built environment on climate change, for easy duplication in other similar structures.    


"We are excited to launch this pilot with Pythagoras Solar's leading-edge solar window solutions as a test for not only the energy savings that can be achieved, but the potential they represent to actually generate power through the sun," said John Huston, Executive Vice President of American Landmark Properties, one of the ownership partners of Willis Tower. 

"We are incredibly proud to be considered to contribute our part for the 'greening' of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the iconic Willis Tower," said Gonen Fink, Co-founder and CEO Pythagoras Solar.  "It is inspiring to see a team not waver in its dedication to making a true and lasting change through smart investments in the right solutions.  With its combined benefits, our technology is set to provide Willis Tower with a valuable tool that will help move it toward its energy efficiency goals."

Leveraging mass-scale solar power window installations has a direct impact on improving the energy efficiency and energy generation potential of a building's exterior envelope and windows.  Pythagoras Solar is the first company to offer a fully integrated photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU) that addresses the need for simultaneous benefits of energy efficiency and high power density, while also offering architectural design benefits to increase real estate value and advance Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZB).