How Smart Glass Can Eliminate the Need For Curtains
Windows can now control light and heat through electricity and high-tech formulations, making blinds and shades optional
Mike Elgan
28 January 2019
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering... More
Smart windows are made with a special high-tech glass that can quickly change from clear to tinted or that can selectively block heat, light or glare. Smart glass is also sometimes called dynamic glass or switchable glass.
Eventually glass will get really smart, functioning as a computer screen with the touch of a button. But that won’t happen for 10 years or so. For now the next big thing is smart glass that replaces shades, blinds and curtains. Residential smart glass is expected to cost about twice as much as conventional glass, but it can cut heating and cooling costs, so you can theoretically recoup the added expense.
Eventually glass will get really smart, functioning as a computer screen with the touch of a button. But that won’t happen for 10 years or so. For now the next big thing is smart glass that replaces shades, blinds and curtains. Residential smart glass is expected to cost about twice as much as conventional glass, but it can cut heating and cooling costs, so you can theoretically recoup the added expense.
dailycal.org
Research on smart glass makes the promise of new technologies clear. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, for example, has been working with the Institute for the Science of Materials in Spain to embed a special formulation with tin oxide nanocrystals into new smart glass. It’s complicated stuff, but the bottom line of their research is that smart glass can one day be less expensive because the glass can be made at relatively low temperatures.
The benefits of smart glass
The result is a glass than can block heat and light independently of each other – for example, it can block the heat but let sunshine in.
Turn a dial to apply a small amount of electricity to the glass, and it will absorb infrared light, greatly reducing the heat from the sunlight coming through the glass. Turn another dial, and the glass will go dark. Both heat and light can be adjusted to your preference, each turned all the way up or down.
Researchers have formed a California startup, called Heliotrope, to further develop and market the technology.
Learn all about smart homes
The benefits of smart glass
The result is a glass than can block heat and light independently of each other – for example, it can block the heat but let sunshine in.
Turn a dial to apply a small amount of electricity to the glass, and it will absorb infrared light, greatly reducing the heat from the sunlight coming through the glass. Turn another dial, and the glass will go dark. Both heat and light can be adjusted to your preference, each turned all the way up or down.
Researchers have formed a California startup, called Heliotrope, to further develop and market the technology.
Learn all about smart homes
qualityaudiovideo.com
One of the largest makers of smart glass is a company called SageGlass, which makes electronically tintable glass, used mostly in commercial buildings so far. The company claims its smart glass enables architects to use fewer sun-control devices, which ultimately increases the amount of glass a building can have.
SageGlass’ product works via a ceramic coating that darkens when very low-voltage electricity is applied. When the coating darkens, both light and heat are greatly reduced. The glass is typically used for windows, skylights and curtain walls.
Here’s all about the different types of glass
SageGlass’ product works via a ceramic coating that darkens when very low-voltage electricity is applied. When the coating darkens, both light and heat are greatly reduced. The glass is typically used for windows, skylights and curtain walls.
Here’s all about the different types of glass
viewglass.com
Another smart-glass company to watch is View, which is a startup backed by glass giant Corning. In addition to being able to change automatically based on the light coming through the window, View’s Dynamic Glass product is also controllable from either a wall switch or a smart-phone app.
There’s no question that smart-glass technology can bring down the costs of heating and cooling, and is improving the options for controlling light and heat not with shades, blinds and curtains but with changes in the glass itself.
The future of home windows looks very bright. Or dark. It’s up to you.
Read more:
6 Must-Have, Invisible Home Technologies
Tell us:
What piece of new technology would you like in your home? Tell us in the Comments below.
There’s no question that smart-glass technology can bring down the costs of heating and cooling, and is improving the options for controlling light and heat not with shades, blinds and curtains but with changes in the glass itself.
The future of home windows looks very bright. Or dark. It’s up to you.
Read more:
6 Must-Have, Invisible Home Technologies
Tell us:
What piece of new technology would you like in your home? Tell us in the Comments below.
What are you working on?
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Switchable privacy glass is a viable solution if it fits the budget! We offer a switchable privacy glass product that allows for instant, on-demand privacy or clear view. Visit our website www.smartglass-systems.com for more details. More photos are on our houzz page also.
Smart glass is a terrific idea, but still largely out of the price range of the average consumer. The insulating and sound attenuation factors have come a long way in the past few years. This proves to be of great benefit to end users.
But I don't think it curtains for curtains yet. (I love the pun by the way!) Curtains, drapery can soften the hard edges of a window. They also provide insulation, light control and help soften reflected sound within a room, particularly if there are a lot of hard surfaces.
Keep up the great work at improving glass!
I am lazy, not a cleaner. I love my new blinds-in-the-glass windows in our three bedrooms and the bathroom. I know this is by no means cutting edge technology, but most homeowners can't afford even this innovation that adds a third pane and cuts down on noise transmission so much that I could not hear the tree trimmers next door until I left the bedroom!
Light still gets through, even with the blinds closed, so true darkness requires those draperies or a room-darkening shade. I appreciate that these super mini blinds between the glass do not need to be dusted and I like the clean look of having no window treatments. Dust collectors!
I would love to have the option of letting in the winter sun's heat, while blocking the summer sun, obscuring the lower half of a window and letting the light come in the top. Imagine a shower enclosure that could be clear to show off the pretty tile, but obscures so that the family bathroom could be used by more than one person when a modest family member is in the shower. Or a window that is blocked from the neighbors' view in the leafy summer would simply be switched to obscured glass as needed after the tree leaves were gone in the fall? Modern decorating gets so much easier when the glass is not permanently one type of glass, but can be modified by turning a switch.