Imagine a high-tech glass that you could change from transparent to frosted with the flick of a switch… You could use it for home windows (eliminating the need for blinds), for store fronts (at night), and even for bathrooms (requiring users to stretch for a new level of trust in technology).A French company produces an “intelligent” glass called Privalite, which can be switched from an ordinary-looking clear glass to a foggy-looking frosted glass by running an electrical current over a polymer liquid-crystal film sandwiched between two plates of glass.

When a product is called “smart”, it simply means it is programmed with an auto-intelligence capable of operating a single task. And the same goes for smart glass: instead of relying on glass treatments to block the light, these specially designed, energy-efficient glass panes automatically control the sun’s solar penetration. 

 

How does Smart Glass Work?

 

Privacy glass works according to the principles of polymer liquid-crystal optics. The laminated glazing comprises two sheets of glass, either clear or tinted, and a liquid crystal film. Both faces of the film are covered with a transparent, electrical conductive coating. When the glass is switched off from its special power supply, the liquid crystals are randomly scattered and diffuse light in all directions. By switching the glass on, the crystals line up and reorient themselves, turning the opaque glass totally transparent. Switching from the non-transparent state to the transparent state is almost instantaneous and can be repeated as often as desired.

In recent years, the market for light-control glass has expanded due to the increasing demands for energy efficiency and heat and light control, automated shading, privacy, and design and engineering innovation.

Applications

Smart glass can be applicable in the following areas:

Several professions and industries such as the house, the fitment and the automobile.

In the industry of real estate/decoration, it can be applied in high-stand apartments, villas, town houses, office building and stores.

Building walls, doors, windows and indoor separation, decorations.

The big area of the projection wall

The controllable options of offices (meeting rooms, supervision rooms)

The controllable options of public facilities (restaurants, hotels, banks, hospitals, the recreational places)

Applications of smart glass include building windows, doors and skylights; automobile, boat and aircraft windows; appliance windows, computer screens and cell phone screens. Its use in home and residential windows can all but eliminate the need for blinds or shades, and it fits in with the "green movement" by helping with interior heating and cooling.

Advantages

Smart glass does not need cleaning and does not fade in the sun like cloth and plastic.

It only requires a small amount of energy to sustain (powering several windows at once uses less electricity than a single light bulb) and electrochromic glass hardly needs any electricity at all.

Can assist the air condition to economize energy and can obstruct ultraviolet radiation.

Allow enough light even when opaque, tenders bright indoors.

 

Technical Specification:

 

Size:

       Maximum size of Single panel glass: W1200mm*H3500mm

       Glass: clear float glass

Thickness: 4mm,5mm,6mm,8mm,10mm.

Film thickness: 0.38mm/0.76mm/1.14mm

 

Power Performance:

       Operating voltage: AC60-75V

       Frequency: 50HZ ~ 60Hz

       Amperage: In AC110V, 100mA/sqm

       Electric Consumption: In A C110V, 5W/sqm

       switching speed: less than one second(from the opaque to transparent:100ms;from transparent to opaque: 400ms)

 Optical performance:

Operation mode: NO (transparent), OFF (opaque)

Visible light transmittance: power on 75%, power off 10%

Light transmittance: ON 80%, OFF 60%    

Haze coefficient: ON 3%, OFF 82%

UV Blocking: more than 98%

Visible angle: 130 degrees.

Working environment: - minus 20°C to 65°C

      Working life: more than 10 years

Quality assurance:   one year