Who wouldn't get excited about the idea of controlling sunlight, privacy, and lovely views in your home without ever leaving the couch? This tech-powered dream is now a reality thanks to recent smart window innovations! Smart windows offer so many helpful features that their popularity rises faster than your morning caffeine buzz. Below we'll explore smart windows, their different types, main features and benefits, and considerations for installation into your home.
Smart windows feature panes made of specialised materials between two layers of glass or laminated film that can shift between clear and opaque states when activated. This enables them to control natural and artificial light passage as needed effectively.
Smart glass offers clever innovations like integrated blinds and adjustable tinting films to give homeowners more control over their windows without adding hardware. Integrated blinds placed between glass panes keep dust out while allowing users to raise or lower slats to filter light and privacy. Control films when activated, can tint windows to varying degrees or even turn completely opaque. Rather than fumbling with curtains and blinds, these technologies allow adjusting sunlight, visibility, and views with the press of a button, using a mobile app, or even just by speaking voice commands in some cases.
There are many ways in which installing switchable window glass can benefit a living space. The most noteworthy perks for homeowners include:
With the ability to tint or frost over instantly while still allowing outside visibility from the darkened interior side, smart windows place control over privacy and natural lighting levels quite literally at your fingertips.
This adjustability helps balance outside light for visual comfort while maintaining desirable views and managing privacy dynamically in rooms like home offices, nurseries and bedrooms based on changing needs at different times.
By effectively controlling infrared heat from sunlight during summer and insulating during colder months, bright windows could reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 26 percent compared to traditional low-emission glass.
This can mean substantial savings of hundreds of dollars annually for the average home.
Smart glass blocks up to 99% of harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun that would otherwise cause fading and degradation to interior furnishings like flooring, artwork, curtains and furniture over the years. This prevents premature ageing of assets while still letting desirable natural light in.
In addition to sunlight, popular electrochromic and thermochromic smart windows also dampen sound transmission from the outside by several decibels. This acoustic insulation brings quiet and calm to interiors.
Upgrading traditional windows to dynamic smart glass is an investment, but one that can transform living spaces significantly while paying dividends long-term in energy savings and reduced asset depreciation.
However, as this emerging advanced building material matures into the mainstream market, prices remain at a premium over conventional windows. As production scales up, though, those costs are projected to become increasingly competitive.
With continually improving technology offering adjustable daylighting, noise insulation, seasonal energy optimisation and UV damage control at your fingertips, smart windows can make homes smarter, more comfortable and more efficient than ever. The next generation of glass is here, brighter than ever. With AIS Glasxperts, your dream of smart automated windows is now achievable.