Switchable privacy glass available from Record Automated Doors allows the user to control instantaneous switching between transparent and translucent states at the flick of a switch.

The revolutionary ‘smart glass’ product is popular with architects, building owners and interior designers, that are searching for practical vision control in a high-tech glass product.

For a recent office refurbishment in Rhodes in Sydney the new tenants wanted a glass screen for their meeting / conference room that would provide privacy when in use, without using curtains or blinds. Record Automated Doors’ switchable privacy glass was chosen and two panels were installed into a natural anodised aluminium channel with a silicon butt joint in the middle. The privacy glass can be switched from translucent to transparent instantly, by using a switch inside the room.

Switchable privacy glass is a laminated glass containing a liquid crystal interlayer between two sheets of clear annealed glass. When the switchable privacy glass is in transparent mode an electric current is passed through the interlayer, aligning the microscopic crystals along numerous parallel axes. When privacy is needed, the current is switched off and the crystals then fall into a random formation. The light passing through the privacy glass system is diffused in a random nature due to these crystals.

Control of the switchable privacy glass is achieved through the power supply, allowing several electronic switching methods to be used, such as a standard light switch, radar, proximity sensors, passive infrared, door lock reed switch and light sensing or impedance controls.