What Is Switchable Glass and Its Uses?

November 1, 2017 Off By Techinstro

In this modern age, when you can control the climate inside your homes with the switch on a remote then it makes perfect sense to be able to control the light entering from the windows as well. Here is where the switchable glass, or smart glass, comes in.

The switchable glass is an innovative glass. Its opacity levels can easily control through applying the appropriate voltage, heat or light. The glass can change its properties from translucent to transparent. It can also be made to block specific wavelengths of sunlight while letting others pass through quickly.

How is Switchable Glass made?

Smart glass also called as switchable privacy glass made through various processes. The switchable sheet obtained by laminating two or more layers of fine polycarbonate. The glass infused with specific thermal, optic or electric properties which make it react to heat, light or electrical current, respectively. The increase or decrease in these can efficiently enhance or decrease the opacity of the glass.

The most commonly used switchable glass comes with electrochromic properties which means that the opacity can be controlled with the passing of electric current through the material. The glass maintains the opacity level it has set to without the need of constant electrical supply.

The latest advances in electrochromic technology enable you to lighten or darken the tint on your smart glass within seconds. The tinting process is uniform and fast and provides optimum privacy whenever required. The electrochromic film is easy to apply on any glass or transparent plastic surface. It efficiently provides control over the opacity level of the unique glass or plastic it has employed.

What is Smart Switchable Film?

Further innovation in smart glass technology has enabled the fabrication of the intelligent switchable film. Aforementioned is an efficient way to give electrochromic properties to even conventional glass. That is an entirely self-adhesive thin film of electrochromic material which applied on numerous types of glass surfaces.

The smart switchable film is made using the innovative PDLC (Polymer Dispersing Liquid Crystal) technology. Fabricate these thin sheets; liquid crystal is dissolved/dispersed in a solvent polymer solution. The polymer is later solidified or cured. As the fluid polymer hardens, the liquid crystal solution, being incompatible with the liquid, forms tiny pockets of crystals inside. The size of the pockets (droplets) of crystal in the polymer determines the operating properties of the window it will use.

Typically, this hardened polymer with liquid crystal droplets inside is sandwiched between two layers of glass or plastic. The exterior of the polymer first coated with a thin layer of a conducting material which is transparent. This way, the glass acts as a capacitor.

When live electrodes are applied to the transparent electrodes in the smart switchable film-covered glass the crystals inside align to allow less or more light to pass through. The opacity is controlled by increasing or decreasing the voltage being applied.