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2026-03-09

Update

This writeup is unnecessarily complicated because I was still thinking it through while writing. Here's a simpler writeup.

• Basically you want to control for dust, light and temperature.
• You should always have a transparent fine wire mesh that can block dust, but not block anything else (wind/moisture, visible light, infrared light)
• You should have an ON/OFF setting for whether to allow visible light. Light synchronises with circadian rhythm. To do this, just use a window that allows visible light but blocks infrared right, i.e. a glazed window. And attach a motor to it.
• You should have an ON/OFF setting for both infrared light and wind. Infrared light and wind both control temperature. If you want inside temperature to be preserved from outside temperature, use ON, if you want outside temperature to affect inside temperature, use OFF. This applies whether the outside is hotter or colder, or whether you want it to be hotter or colder. You can allow/block wind without allowing/blocking sunlight, as long as the wind is entering the house from a different direction than sunlight. You can use a surface to redirect the direction of wind, if this is not naturally true. You can use a infrared glass with a motor to control whether to let infrared light in or not.
• You should apply all of the above, to all the 4 walls and the ceiling, such that now your entire house is just built out of this stuff. A lot of sunlight could be really good, a lot of wind could be really good, you don't have to restrict it to just one tiny window.

2026-01-03

General purpose windows

Disclaimer

• Quick Note

note to self

• all this is distraction from your immediate decision, which is whether to live in a place with even more sunlight, or maybe even experiment with artificial light

main

• Lol all this discussion on lesswrong reminds me on my older thoughts on "general purpose windows". A surface can block air, water, sunlight, and heat, to varying degrees. A window is one that lets you block some or block all selectively, depending on your preferences. This gives you atleast 2^4 = 16 different configurations to keep a window in.
• If you want to be super formal about it, then you want to track the following things:
  • mass transfer into closed system
    • gaseous mass transfer - usually wind or air entering room
    • liquid mass transfer - usually moisture, rain or flood entering room
    • solid mass transfer - usually dust or sometimes garbage entering room. technically, blocking robbers from breaking open the window or wall also comes in this category
  • energy transfer into closed system
    • EM radiation
      • EM waves in infrared spectrum - also known as heat - usually solar radiation entering room
      • EM waves in visible spectrum - also known as light - usually entering room
    • energy transfer via conduction - usually windows/walls can heat or cool, and then heat/cool the room
    • energy transfer into closed system via mass transfer
      • energy transfer via gaseous mass transfer - aka convection - usually hot or cold air entering the room
      • energy transfer via liquid mass transfer - aka convection - unlikely in a room environment
      • energy transfer via solid mass transfer - unlikely in a room environment
• Different types of surfaces block different aspects
  • Wire mesh - Blocks solid mass transfer but not liquid or gaseous. Does not block infrared or visible EM
  • Brick wall - Blocks all mass transfer. Blocks all EM. May allow energy transfer via conduction
  • Glass window - Blocks all mass transfer. Allows infrared and visible spectrum. May allow some conduction.
  • One-way glass window - Same as glass window but the visible spectrum EM travels in only one direction
  • Glazed window - Blocks all mass transfer. Tries to let more visible spectrum in, but keep infrared heat out. May allow some conduction
  • Vacuum double wall - Blocks all mass transfer. Blocks all EM. Blocks energy transfer via conduction
  • Steel or concrete wall - Blocks all mass transfer, including robbers applying significant force to cause mass transfer. Blocks all EM. May allow some energy transfer via conduction
  • Vertical or venetian blinds - Allows mass transfer. Blocks visible spectrum, but not infrared spectrum. Allows energy transfer via conduction (can ignore because convective heat is so much greater than conductive).
  • ??? (this is not an exhaustive list)
• Which configurations are good? Some thoughts
  • Of the top of my head, I can't think of a single important reason I would want to allow solid mass transfer (usually dust). AFAIK the primary reason all windows don't use a fine wire mesh by default is because of aesthetics.
  • Same for liquid transfer, I can't think of any important to allow liquid transfer. But it is hard to block liquid transfer yet allow gas transfer. You can create a surface in front so that the liquid runs off due to gravity but gas can still travel inside. Wind speed will reduce though.
  • Whether to allow gaseous mass transfer (aka wind) depends on temperature preferences. If outside temperature is near human body optimal, you may want to allow it. If it is not, you may want to block it. Often temperature varies throughout the day, so it is common to do things like allow it when temperature outside is within human body optimal range (daytime in winters, nighttime in summers) but block it when temperature outside is outside human body optimal range (nighttime in winters, daytime in summers). This saves energy expenditure you would otherwise make via an air conditioner or room heater, or fan.
  • The above also applies quite directly for infrared spectrum heat transfer.
  • Sunlight has to be coordinated with body's circadiam rhythm. Lots of sunlight during daytime, no sunlight during nighttime. Most people nowadays use artificial light to continue working into the nighttime. You can also use artifical light if natural light is too low in your region, to avoid seasonal affective disorder
• Which configs are good? Conclusion
  • Optimal windows should always have a transparent wire mesh that is not too unaesthetic. (to do for self - can you make meshes out of glass instead of steel? sounds easy in theory tbh)
  • Optimal windows should always a sill above the window that can block rain without blocking wind speed too much. Optimal windows may also want to have optional CaCO3 tablets or similar to absorb excess moisture entering room. (to do for self - read more about moisture, why don't all houses in humid regions use CaCO3 tablets already?)

thoughts

• Optimal windows should have one optional sliding surface that only blocks visible spectrum but not infrared. Also should not block wind. Think more - it sounds hard to block visible light without blocking wind, how to do this? Our best way of blocking any type of light is a solid surface, but that will also block wind One jugaad solution is to track which direction most of the visible light is coming from, put wall on that side of room, redirect the wind to enter the room from a different direction. Otherwise ofcourse people use a fan.
• Optimal windows should have one optional sliding window that only blocks infrared spectrum but not visible. Also it should block all air/wind completely. It is common to buy windows of this type. (Note to self - why don't people make houses with the entire roof covered by such windows?)
• In total an optimal window should four surfaces, two which are always ON (wire mesh to block dust, sill to block rain and possibly CaCOs for moisture) and two that can be switched ON or OFF in real time (window that infrared but not visible, wind direction redirector).
• Also these windows can cover the entire roof and walls, there is no reason to have small windows IMO.
  • I'm actually very confused why this is not common. Glass is not that expensive. Movable walls are not that expensive, you just need to attach a giant motor to each wall and to the roof. Why can't you build all the walls and the roof out of glazed glass (allow visible not infrared), and then separately have motorised walls and motorised roof?

brain not working, think again

You want your room to have 4 possible settings

• glazed window - blocks infrared, allows visible, blocks hot/cold wind
• thin wall - blocks infrared, blocks visible, blocks hot/cold wind
• infrared glass plus wind redirector - allows infrared, blocks visible, allows hot/cold wind
• transparent wire mesh - allows infrared, allows visible, allows hot/cold wind

All 4 settings should apply to all walls and the roof

Okay so optimal room must have following

• It should be built out of transparent wire mesh
• It should have motorized glazed windows and roof - ON means have window, OFF means have nothing
  • (preferably use thick windows so they also block conductive heat)
• It should have motorized allowing-infrared-only windows and roof - ON means have window, OFF means have nothing
  • (preferably use thin windows so they do not block conductive heat)
• It should have motorized wind redirectors placed outside the room - ON means wind flowing in wrong direction gets redirected back towards room, OFF means do nothing. Wind redictors OFF/ON will always match infrared-allowing window ON/OFF (note that OFF matches ON and vice versa)
  • If you switch both windows ON (and keep wind redirector OFF) then your house again functions like a thin walled house.

I'm confused why this hasn't been built already. Windows are not that expensive. Motors are not that expensive.

Motorised brick wall?

• Brick wall or vacuum double wall has additional benefit over a thined wall house, because it also blocks conduction much better than a glazed window (no matter how thick). None of what is listed above blocks conduction all that well.
• Do you also need a motorised brick wall then? This might be more expensive tbh. Especially since you need the fittings to be tight enough that no heat can escape through the gaps.

Disclaimer

• As you may have noticed, cost is not a consideration in the above discussion.
  • This is an unrealistic assumption, I am aware.
  • If you were rich enough to purchase everything mentioned, you might also be rich enough to relocate your work/friends/whatever to a location that doesn't deal with extreme weather conditions.
  • Or maybe you're then rich enough to geoengineer the planet itself, that's a whole discussion I've skipped.

Note to self

• I have abandoned this writeup because none of this is a priority for me right now. I don't have time to do first-principles reasoning and solve optimal window problem for all of humanity. Only immediate decision I need to take right now is whether to move to another room with even more sunlight, or not.

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