Abstract: Light control system and method in which a privacy glass window having first and second transparent substrates with a film of liquid crystal between the substrates is mounted in the wall or roof of a building. The level of ambient light outside the building is monitored and/or sunlight impinging directly on the building is detected, and the film is energized to make the window transparent during daylight hours when sunlight is not impinging directly upon it. Some embodiments include override switches which permit the window to be made transparent at night and/or during cooler months when sunlight is falling directly on it, and some include an override switch which permits the window to be darkened during daylight hours in warmer months.

Abstract: Air conditioning system and method in which a refrigerant from a compressor is circulated through a cooling element within a hermetically sealed, thermally insulated cooling compartment, and cooled air from the compartment is delivered to a space to be cooled. In one disclosed embodiment, the cooling compartment is located at the center of a solid cube of insulative material and is heavily insulated from the ambient conditions outside the cube.

Abstract: Air conditioning system and method in which a refrigerant from a compressor is circulated through a cooling element within a hermetically sealed, thermally insulated cooling compartment to cool a fluid within the compartment, and transferring the cooled fluid out of the compartment for use in cooling a space. In one disclosed embodiment, the fluid which is cooled is air which is blown out of the compartment into the space to be cooled. In another disclosed embodiment, the fluid is a coolant which is contained within a vertically extending tube that extends both within the compartment and through a heat exchanger positioned beneath the compartment, with air being cooled by blowing it through the heat exchanger and then into the space to be cooled.

Abstract: Electrochromic device and method. In one disclosed embodiment, an electrochromic coating is applied to a light transmissive substrate, and a first control voltage is generated in accordance with the amount of light impinging upon the substrate. That control voltage is applied to the electrochromic coating to decrease the transmittance of the substrate as the light increases. Ambient light conditions are monitored to provide a second control voltage which is applied to the electrochromic coating to decrease the transmittance of the substrate when the ambient light falls below a predetermined level, e.g. at night. In other disclosed embodiments, the electrochromic coating is applied to the lenses of a pair of glasses and to a lamp shade, with photovoltaic cells for controlling the transmittance of the coating in accordance with the amount of impinging light.