How Does Innovative Smart Glass Technology Work in 2024?
How Does Innovative Smart Glass Technology Work in 2024?
Have you ever thought of a glass window in your living room that not only turns frosted in a second but is also efficient in trapping most of the solar heat? This might seem something magical to a person who hears the word ‘smart glass’ for the very first time but fortunately, this is an incredible reality of the present century.
What is Smart or Switchable glass?
Smart glass, also referred to as switchable or dynamic glass, is a technology-based variation of glass, which can shift from opaque to translucent (near to transparent) at the flick of a switch. The most usable form, known as a Polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal device, is an application of Liquid Crystal Display, consisting of a single LCD film that gets laminated in between two glass sheets and goes through a heating process afterward.
Other varieties include electrochromics, micro-blinds, suspended particle displays (SPDs), thermochromic and photochromic smart glass. This innovative glass type alters its optical properties, thus blocking sunlight and heat from entering your house.
PLCD (Polymer-dispersed Liquid Crystal Device), which works under a remote-control system, turns clear when electricity runs through it. Conversely, electrochromics change the light transmission patterns on exposure to electricity whereas SPDs shift from partly opaque to transparent. Thermochromics and photochromics require heat and light respectively to exhibit their work.
With its energy-efficient functionality, handiness, and privacy settings, smart glass has become a center of attention for builders, architects, automotive experts, and interior designers.
Models of Polymer-dispersed Liquid Crystal Device:
PLCD, being the most popular type, generally comes under two different models.
Standard/ Common Type: If an article of smart glass can shift from being opaque to being transparent completely, it falls under the category of standard model. It is generally simple, consisting of two wires only, which are connected to a small transformer. This whole apparatus works under the control of a switch or remote.
Next generation: Next-generation smart glass, being relatively complex, has a lot more wiring inside the glass sheets. Its unique aspect is that it can have different patterns, visuals, designs, logos, etc., as it is easily moldable.
Dynamics of Smart Glass: How does a smart glass operate?
Different types of smart glass work in different manners. PLCD, however, works because of a Liquid Crystal film sandwiched between two conductive layers. This film has numerous tiny holes, filled with liquid crystals; which are randomly oriented in the absence of any electric power. In this state, they scatter the light rays and make the glass appear hazy. The liquid crystal particles align themselves in the same direction once the electricity runs through the film, turning the glass pellucid.
Smart Glass Customizability and Aesthetic Value:
Switchable glass technology has evolved to provide a dynamic fabric for customization, such as the display of digital art and fascinating visuals. It can be easily tailored into different shapes, sizes, and designs, depending upon the user’s preferences. You can change the shades, transparency level, transparency distribution, and patterns according to your own choice as well. This enables architects and other design geeks to transform residential and commercial spaces in consonance with their tastes and desires.
In addition, smart glass serves to enhance the aesthetics and beauty of your houses, offices, and commercial areas. Whether it’s about embellishing the ceilings and walls of your living room or creating a biophilic design at your office, smart glass has always been a great choice.
Uses and Possible Advantages:
Smart glass is an amazing technology of modern times, which has uncountable uses in different walks of life. Whether it’s architecture or interior design, education or healthcare, hospitality or tourism, switchable glass products can be seen everywhere. Talking about the benefits, the most significant one is that the smart glass offers an isolated environment so that the customers can maintain their privacy. Furthermore, switchable glass technology tends to improve natural lighting, thus minimizing the use of man-made lighting which consumes energy. This promotes energy efficiency and sustainability.
Benefits in Interior Design:
Smart glass is a very beneficial tool for architects and interior designers, as it has redefined how we communicate with our environment and surroundings. The most practical application of switchable glass technology in the field of architectural design is its usage in facades. This aspect qualifies it to be used in doors as well as walls of your apartments.
By replacing the brick wall with smart glass, builders, and laborers tend to reduce the need for artificial lights and move towards energy-saving methods.
Benefits in the Automotive Industry:
You might have seen speed or navigation information being displayed on the windshield of some automobiles. Thanks to the astonishing employment of the switchable glass in the automobile sector, which has served to make drivers more conscious about their driving habits. Automobile engineers have used smart glass in making something known as Heads-up-Displays (HUDs), that produce special instructions for the drivers right in front of them. Not only does it help to improve the safety of the passengers but also it keeps the driver indifferent to distractions in his surroundings.
Benefits in the Healthcare Systems:
Medical professionals are not left behind in making use of smart glass to provide a better experience for their patients. In the medical settings at national and international hospitals, smart glass partitions are widely used in creating a private environment for the patient. These smart glass boundaries, which are managed by the medical staff, give more freedom to the doctors in dealing effectively with the people. Surprisingly, it is the result of using switchable glass that surgeons are now able to monitor their patient details, like X-rays, directly on the walls of the operation theatre. This helps to eliminate the minute errors while performing surgery.
Benefits in Hospitality and Aviation:
One might wonder what the possible use of this glass can be in the hospitality and aviation sectors. But it is the hallmark of technology that it finds its applications in all the domains of life. Smart glass is specifically used in the walls and windows of resorts and hotels so that tourists and guests might be able to adjust the glassiness according to their own will. Airplanes, nowadays, also use this glass variant, enabling the passengers to control the lighting of their cabins.
Is Smart Glass cost-effective and economical to use?
Apart from the beneficial aspects, another factor that defines whether the use of the technology would be widespread or not, is its cost efficiency. Smart glass products have a variety of price ranges which are influenced by their quality, size, design, life expectancy, and installation needs. This innovative technology can be expected to have a warranty of five years according to the manufacturers.
Switchable glass does have a high cost and is quite expensive to install, but its advantages certainly overshadow this aspect. The cost of a glass per square foot typically falls somewhere between 50 to 180 US dollars. Regarding the other variants, the price of the smart glass may exceed 200 US dollars.
Safety Concerns about Switchable Glass:
Customers are usually concerned about safety when they make use of technology practically. Well, smart glass does not cause any adverse effects to the surroundings, rather it is an environmentally safe product. To avoid any inconvenience, one must try to have a proper installation initially and get maintenance on a regular basis.
Energy Efficiency and Climate Adaptability in Smart Glass:
The best part about smart glass is that it works to save as much energy as possible in a world that is already facing an energy crisis. It is used to adjust the natural lighting, thereby eliminating the requirement of artificial lights and saving energy. Users can get visual comfort as it is in their hands to change the glass transparency of the house interiors from opaque to clear.
Also, this unique glass article can reduce the intensity of UV radiation coming from the sun. In this manner, it creates a relatively cool aura inside your home and prevents overheating. Since it eradicates the use of blinds and curtains, smart glass is sometimes referred to as electric curtains.
Is Smart Glass the best choice?
Whether you are an architect, an interior designer or a common man planning to renovate your house, the question that always crunches you is if smart glass is the best option or not. Well, if we weigh the benefits on one side with the cost on the other, the benefits certainly weigh much more. Smart glass, with its privacy settings and ease to handle, not only adds beauty to your homes and offices but also saves most of your energy. With its one time investment at the time of installation, the fruit of this innovative technology can be harvested for more than five years. Hence, smart glass is the best solution to your problems today.
Challenges and Future Prospects:
Contrary to the wide-ranging advantages of smart glass technology, it does have some limitations which can be worked upon. One of those possible challenges is its complete dependence on electricity to function, which can make it useless under certain circumstances. Another factor that becomes a hurdle for people to go for smart glass installation at their houses and offices, rather than the common glass, is its high prices.
We know that technology continues to grow, and this is true for smart glass as well. Smart glass can be integrated with Artificial Intelligence in the future to make it function just like robots. There are also other areas for improvement, which can be overcome to make this technology accessible to every person on this planet.
In a nutshell, the invention of smart glass technology has brought an incredible change in all areas of life as its positive aspects outnumber the negative ones. There is no denying in saying that smart glass will be the new normal soon.
