No matter what you call it, it’s cool!
In short, smart glass or electric tint is basically a coating on your glass (glazing if you will) that reacts to an electrical current. When there is no current, the glass is opaque but when you hit the switch it’s perfectly transparent.
Simple! ;)
Why is it so cool? Well for starters you won’t need curtains ever again! Second, just imagine how jealous your friends and neighbors will be when they see how your windows “white-out” with a flick of a switch! Instant privacy.
Smart glass technologies are electrochromic devices, suspended particle devices, and liquid crystal devices. I know that doesn’t mean much to you (me neither) but there are slight differences between them and the way they block UV rays and the Sun’s heat.
Smart glass (or switchable glass) is often used for skylights where it can be most useful since using or cleaning any type of blind on a skylight can be rather difficult and frustrating.
Even though the technology behind it is pretty old, these systems can still be quite expensive (although not so expensive that they prevent ordinary people from owning them). I’m not sure if there are any well known companies (Nation wide chains, etc.) selling or installing these systems but if you know of one please don’t hesitate to leave a comment for the rest of us! (don’t spam though, one link per electric tint company is enough)
Picture from takatuka
Tags: electric tint, modern glass, smart glass, window tint
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