Sustainability
Switchable glazing has an environmental case that runs in three directions at once: lighting load, cooling load and the materials it replaces.
The argument
Three savings from one decision
Most glazing products improve one thing and cost you another. A dark tint cuts heat and costs daylight. A blind gives privacy and costs the view. Switchable glazing is unusual in that the same mechanism improves several things simultaneously, because it is only doing its job when the job needs doing.
Sustainability and energy performance using PDLC technology comes down to reduced energy consumption in lighting, reduced demand on the cooling plant, and a reduction in the materials the building consumes over its life.
Where the savings come from
The sustainability advantages, itemised
These are the specific mechanisms, taken from TouchActiv's published position on PDLC technology.
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Energy savings through natural lighting
Daylight admitted while privacy is preserved, so artificial lighting is needed for fewer hours. -
Reduced material consumption
A switchable pane replaces the blind, the curtain, the track and every replacement set of them over the building's life. -
Enhanced indoor air quality
No fabric surfaces collecting dust in the space, which matters most in clinical and educational environments. -
Low power consumption
Comparable to a clock radio (source-stated), so the switching itself is not a meaningful load. -
Blocks 80%+ infrared and 99%+ UV radiation
Intercepting solar energy at the glass line rather than removing it from the room afterwards. -
Reduced HVAC energy demand
Every unit of solar energy that does not arrive is a unit the cooling plant does not have to spend energy removing.
Stated performance
The published figures
These are TouchActiv product performance claims and should be confirmed in writing for a specific product and assembly before they are used in an energy model or a green building submission.
- 99 %+
- Ultraviolet radiation blocked
- 80 %+
- Infrared heat energy blocked
- 98 %
- Daylight cut in full blackout mode
- Low
- Power consumption in the switched state
- Comparable to a clock radio
Beyond efficiency
When the envelope stops only spending
Efficiency reduces what a building consumes. Solar smart glass and transparent BIPV glazing change the sign of the term altogether — the same area of facade that was a thermal liability becomes a generating asset.
In a climate that cools for most of the year, that matters twice: energy converted at the glass is energy that is not admitted as heat, so the generation and the load reduction arrive together.
Next step
Building to a sustainability target?
Tell us the target and the elevation. We will tell you honestly what this technology contributes to it, and what it does not.