Building management in the corporate world is increasingly becoming a more and more discussed subject. The need to address ecological aspects like carbon footprints and ever-increasing maintenance costs has brought professionals to explore technologies that preserve occupant comfort, enhance the built environment and save energy. Read on to know more about our recommended solution for office buildings- Electrochromic Dynamic Windows.
Windows and glass surfaces are often the most inefficient section of the building’s envelope, responsible for heat loss in cold months and solar heat gain during the hot months. In cases of personal households, sunlight in the house can increase cooling costs by as much as 20%!
Glare can often be quite annoying especially in working environments, making it difficult to view screens, requiring blinds to be installed and completely negating the numerous array of benefits of natural lighting. Additionally, it has a negative impact on furniture, carpets and drapes, ultimately increasing maintenance costs.
The next generation of fenestration technologies modulates solar energy by utilizing voltage. EC Dynamic Glass and electrochromic EC Windows use lithium-ion polarization- When positively charged lithium atoms with missing electrons migrate between the two electrodes through a separator.
Electrochromic Glass in Building Façade
When a small voltage is applied to the electrodes, the ions migrate through the separator to the outermost electrode, the result is a modulation in the visible transmittance of light through the glass surface, resulting in a fully tinted state glass.
A case study carried out at three different US climate zones, made up of a wide range of environmental exposure conditions, from hot and dry Arizona to extremely cold Minnesota, building energy savings with EC Glass was 45% greater than when compared to a single pane static glazing which is common in most buildings today.
The technology, whether in the form of a complete glass or EC Glazing (although this application has a few limitations), can be effectively used in large buildings or small households. It can be configured to operate through a switch or integrated with a building management system.