Smart Glass Applications with Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) Technology
Wide-Ranging Applications
Residential – Exterior Facing Windows
Until recently, options for exterior-facing windows left the user with two options: open views to the outside, or closed off view/light via window coverings. These two narrow choices drive many aspects of residential design, from siting to orientation to size and amount of glazing. With PDLC switchable glass comes more choices. A room with extensive glazing can be both brightly lit with natural light as well as private to passersby. PDLC technology offers full privacy as well as a luminous interior when in its off state.
Hotel / Restaurants
Customer satisfaction and profit margins are the engines driving the hospitality industry. PDLC switchable glass offers occupant comfort and privacy, as well as lowering energy costs, dispensing of the need for expensive window coverings, and providing an enhanced, high-technology image for the property. Plus, walls, carpeting, and furnishings escape damage from UV rays when smart glass is installed. In addition, many hotels and restaurants aim to stay ahead of the curve and offer the latest in modern trends, and nothing says ahead of the curve more than PDLC switchable glass, which brings a definite wow factor.
Conference rooms
For a well-equipped office, a dedicated conference room is a must. But when no private conferences, meetings, or depositions are in session, that high-priced real estate remains cut off and reduces available light and openness. PDLC switchable partition glass allows the conference area to remain a visual part of the open office, allowing natural light to both flow into the space from adjacent naturally lit areas, and to flow out of the room into adjacent spaces.
Privacy
Privacy via window coverings is often achieved at the cost of natural light. Once the window is covered, the light is blocked. Smart windows using PDLC technology allows for privacy as well as natural lighting.
Photos courtesy of Glass Apps
To grab the attention of passing traffic, this retailer uses smart glass that switches from clear to opaque in patterns. The attention from passersby greatly increases in-store traffic. Additionally, the panels can be used in the evening to project HD quality video, creating a video advertising experience that contributes to branding and thus greater in-store traffic.
Retail
The possible uses for retail applications are virtually unlimited. One upscale clothing retailer with a front wall of glazing used smart glass to allow clear glass during shady times and opaque glass during sunny times. The panels changing from transparent to opaque give the store a higher-end, chic ambiance. In addition, to the wow factor, the UV protection achieved by using the PDLC switchable glass reduces the likelihood of sun damage to merchandise displayed behind the windows.
Projection
PDLC is a close cousin to the LCD technology that brings alive our computers, flat-screen TVs, iPads, and other daily gadgets. PDLC switchable glass allows for small or large glass surfaces to be used for dramatic rear projection displays. BMW uses this striking technology in showrooms to bring to life the drama of driving their luxury automobiles. This not only provides a unique advertising medium, but also allows the glass to serve a dual purpose. During the day, the PDLC switchable glass can be clear, allowing full visibility into the showroom, and in the evening the PDLC switchable glass switched to projection to attract attention.
Hospitals and Clinics
Smart glass provides an alternative to dust- and bacteria-trapping blinds and curtains, and thus offers privacy and openness with natural lighting and views when desired while maintaining a sterile environment. Bacteria and germs inside hospitals is a major and growing problem, leading to one in 25 patients getting an infection while in the hospital. That equals, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, 721,800 hospital-acquired infections resulting in some 75,000 deaths.iii Replacing dust- and bacteria-carrying materials with smooth, easy-to-clean glass, this problem can be mitigated substantially.
Photos courtesy of Glass Apps
Strategies to reduce pollutant-carrying materials such as curtains, while allowing the maximum flow of light, could include PDLC smart windows.
Conclusion
The long wait for smart glass is over. The technology is here. The main task ahead is changing a mindset that all walls are solid and all windows are transparent. With smart windows using polymer dispersed liquid crystal technology, a new design strategy is open to designers. With such benefits as privacy with visible light transmission, occupant comfort, improved air quality, energy savings, a contemporary aesthetic, and capacity for rear projection, smart glass will likely become a staple of design specifications in the future.
Endnotes
ii. http://www.geoffcolvin.com/fortune_articles/article/brave-new-work-the-office-of-tomorrow/
iii. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/26/health/hospital-infections/
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Glass Apps is the leading provider of switchable glass and liquid crystal based films. Our smart glass and film products provide privacy on demand with the switch of a button and energy savings through solar control. Glass Apps products are used in residential, commercial, retail, government and transportation exterior and interior glass worldwide. Glass Apps is headquartered in Culver City, CA. |
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