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If it absorbs heat when it's cold outside, how does it know it's still cold outside? Dark (infrared-absorbing) surfaces can take in a lot of heat, even when the ambient temperature is significantly lower - like asphalt melting snow on a sunny mid-January day. Sounds a bit self-defeating to me. If end-user costs are inexpensive enough and the product is durable, it will make the decision easy, but if it will be expensive to buy, it sounds like a tough sell to me.

Did these guys test conventional thermochromics; surely there must be a thermal analog to electrocromics?

Clever idea.