Over $6.5 million in grants from federal money were funded this week in Michigan. Almost 44 percent of this money was allocated for a company located in Midland, Dow Chemical Corporation. They received $2.9 million for their project.

The future will tell which project will be more helpful, but a special interest was offered for a project that involved 12 years of work and research. It is for developing a window film that reacts to sunlight. Even if Pleotint LLC received 7 times less, meaning $400,000, Harlan Byker, the owner of the company, was excited and optimistic for the perspective of his project which may generate between 17 and 30 percent in cost savings and up to $22 billion in national energy savings for each year.

Even if the innovation was the result of such long efforts for a doctor in physical chemistry like Byker, he said that the principle is very simple: a film is sandwiched between two sheets of glass and darkens on sunny days. This protects the inside of the building by extra heating. It becomes transparent on cloudy days, letting the sunlight in to heat the interior.

This special glass will be applied in rooms with south, east, and west facing exposures and will reduce the necessity for blinds or curtains. The film will be produced at their own plant and it will be rolled and sold to interested window manufacturers.

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