Surely, you must have seen all the fuss about privacy and intelligent glass all over the papers and the internet. Be it commercial spaces or residential buildings; these glasses are on the rise everywhere. Why are they popping up everywhere, and what's their purpose? For starters, these smart or switchable glasses are used for privacy reasons. Other than this, they come with multiple benefits. And, it doesn't hurt that this technology helps you save electricity too.
Read ahead to find out why this new technology is preferred by countless people across the world.
Switchable privacy glass
These glasses go by various names, including privacy glass, smart glass, switchable privacy glass, etc. They are known as smart glasses because of their ability to change opacity as per the user's needs. The glass is dynamic - the opacity of the glass can be set at transparent, translucent, or opaque as per your need.
The popularity of this technology is on the rise due to its versatility and ease of use. These smart glasses are a bit pricey, but they help you save a lot of money in the form of energy bills. You can choose between the different types and sizes of glasses available in the market, as per your need.
Types of smart or privacy glass
Generally, there are two main variants in smart glasses - active and passive. When the use of electrical power is involved, it is known as active smart glass. You can operate them with a remote, a switch, or even from your smartphone. PDLC, SPD, and EC glasses are commonly used technologies in this variant.
Passive glass, or self-tinting glass, employs different mechanisms - the tint changes dark when exposed to sunlight or higher temperatures. There are two technologies applied here - thermochromic and photochromic. Thermochromic glasses change their opacity according to temperature, while photochromic ones respond to light.
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Smart glass films
Instead of purchasing privacy or smart glasses, one can also consider smart glass film. This film will help you in transforming your already existing glass panes, windows, acrylic screens into smart glass. Just like in an active switchable glass, the opacity of this glass film is changed with the help of a remote. As the smart glass film can switch from clear to translucent or opaque in an impressive period, it can act as a great ambience booster.
Benefits of smart glass
Smart glasses are said to save around 20% of a building's energy costs. Like any other technology, the technology behind switchable smart glass also aims to provide people with efficient solutions for several problems, including lack of privacy. Take a look at some impressive benefits of this privacy glass.
- Privacy: One of the chief purposes of this technology is to ensure privacy. This glass can be installed in a variety of places, from meeting rooms to window panes; switchable privacy is easy now, anywhere and everywhere.
- Light transmission: Now, your privacy need not come at the cost of lighting. With curtains, you need to block the light from outside to ensure privacy. But this is not the case with intelligent glass. You can still get all the natural light you want while simultaneously maintaining the privacy of the room.
- Versatility: The easy shift from opaque to transparent opacity is a very useful property of smart glass. These glasses can be put to several uses when they are in different opacities - when it is opaque, they can be utilised as a projection screen, and when transparent, they offer natural light to a room.
- Ease of use: The operation of this glass is pretty simple as you need not do much - just the press of a button is enough to activate the function of this switchable glass. With the help of a virtual assistant, you can also use voice commands to change the opacity of the glass.
Are these glasses actually worth it?
The improved quality of the glass and the impressive technology are the main reasons for the growth of these intelligent glasses. The privacy feature is exceedingly interesting too. You might find this type of glass a bit expensive - considering the technology incorporated in them, the price range is understandable. But what is remarkable is that the glasses can help you save electricity bills, along with serving the several benefits we have listed. So, these glasses are indeed worth the money.
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