Privacy shades that generate electricity. Modular photovoltaic window coverings with deterministic safety governance, battery storage, and grid-interactive capability.
Every privacy shade, blind, and window covering in every building on earth intercepts solar radiation and converts it into waste heat. That's energy hitting a surface you already own, doing nothing useful.
SolarShade captures that energy. Each shade generates electricity while still providing privacy, glare reduction, and thermal management. It retrofits into existing windows. No construction. No permits for the DC-only version. Hang it like blinds, plug in a USB-C cable, start generating.
SolarShade is three integrated systems in one product: a photovoltaic generator, a power conditioning system, and a deterministic safety controller.
Every watt follows a deterministic path from photon to load. No ambiguity. No uncontrolled switching.
SolarShade uses the same deterministic governance architecture as Lume-V and the Meridian Canon. An AI system may optimize comfort and energy production, but it does not have final authority over safety-critical switching. These nine rules are architecturally enforced and cannot be overridden by software, firmware updates, or remote commands.
Four photovoltaic technologies evaluated for shade integration. CIGS is the Stage 1 baseline — it balances efficiency, flexibility, and durability for a moving-surface application.
| Material | Efficiency | Flexibility | Weight | UV Life | Cost/Wp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIGS (Flexible) | 18% | Excellent (25mm bend) | 1.0 kg/m² | 25 years | $0.60 |
| Monocrystalline (Rigid) | 22% | None | 10.0 kg/m² | 25 years | $0.28 |
| Organic PV (OPV) | 8% | Excellent (5mm bend) | 0.125 kg/m² | 7 years | $0.45 |
| Amorphous Silicon | 8% | Good (50mm bend) | 1.5 kg/m² | 20 years | $0.75 |
Conservative engineering estimates. Real-world output will be 10-20% lower due to partial shading, temperature effects, aging, and non-optimal slat angles. These are baselines, not marketing projections.
Zero soft costs. No contractor. No permit. No structural engineering. No electrical inspection. SolarShade installs like blinds — mount the headrail, plug in a cable. The installed cost is the product cost. Traditional solar spends 60-70% of total project cost on installation labor, permitting, and engineering. SolarShade eliminates that entire layer.
| Building Type | Windows | Install Cost | Annual kWh | Annual Savings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home (Interior) | 12 | $5,988 | ~1,750 | $1,163/yr | 5.1 yr |
| Home (Exterior) | 12 | $5,988 | ~3,180 | $2,997/yr | 2.0 yr |
| Apartment | 6 | $2,994 | ~875 | $608/yr | 4.9 yr |
| Small Office | 20 | $8,980 | ~2,920 | $1,909/yr | 4.7 yr |
| Commercial Tower | 200 | $69,800 | ~53,000 | $43,816/yr | 1.6 yr |
Rooftop solar payback periods already include the 30% federal Investment Tax Credit. SolarShade's numbers below are pre-incentive — no tax credits factored in.
| Traditional Rooftop | SolarShade | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Payback | 8–9 years | 2.0–5.1 years |
| Commercial Payback | 5–7 years | 1.6 years |
| Apartment / Renter | Not possible | 4.9 years |
| Permits Required | Yes — electrical, structural, interconnection | No (DC-only, SELV) |
| Licensed Electrician | Required | Not required |
| Structural Engineering | Required (roof load analysis) | Not required |
| Installation Time | 1–3 days (professional crew) | 30 minutes per window |
| HVAC Savings | None — panels don't shade windows | $75–187 per window/yr |
| Portable | No — permanently attached to roof | Yes — take it when you move |
| Soft Costs (% of total) | 60–70% | 0% |
SolarShade's wired product ships first. The next generation integrates with the Meridian Canon — DarkWave's deterministic wireless energy routing architecture — to eliminate all internal wiring between shade headrails and the building controller.
Five stages from tabletop prototype to certified commercial product. Each stage validates specific technical claims before committing to the next investment.