There are mainly three types of smart glass:-
- Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC)
- Suspended Particle Device (SPD)
- Electrochromic Device (ECD)
- Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC):-
In PDLC technology smart glass is made with liquidcrystal. It is a material that
has the property of both liquid and solid, which aredispersed into the polymer.
Glass made with PDLC is most commonly used. Theseare used indoors as well
outdoors. They are available in different coloursand patterns to fulfil every need.
It can be laminated on newly fabricated glasses andalso be done on existing old
glasses by retrofit.
Glasses made with PDLC take milliseconds to changefrom opaque to
transparent. But they mainly block visible light sothe heat gets transferred from
such glasses. When clear PDLC smart glass has excellentclarity with a minimum
of 2.5 haze. It is widely used in diverse industries. - Suspended Particle Device (SPD):-
SPD contains miniscule solid particles which are suspendedin liquid and coated
between two thin layers of PET-ITO to create a film.It can be dimmed to
customize opacity but it is not completely opaqueso it can not be used for
privacy. It is ideal for exterior or water-facingwindows. - Electrochromic Device (ECD) :-
It is different from PDLC and SPD, it filters boththe light and heat from solar
Rays.Its property to block heat impacts both its opacitycapability and time of
transition. ECD uses the process of ionization. Byusing ionization through two
electrodes it drives particles from inside of theglass to the outside which causes
the transparent glass to become opaque. One the particlesmove no further
current is required the particles stay in the sameposition. This impacts transition
time to a gradual speed from its outdoor edges, inwardand full transition can
take several minutes or more, depending on the sizeof the glass. They can be
used in an exterior environment where temperatureis very high but can be used
for privacy as it doesn’t completely turn opaque.