Archive through September 15, 2020

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Author Message Jeffrey Potter Senior Member Username: jpotter Post Number: 14 Registered: 02-2017 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 01:54 pm:    It appears Suntuitive Glass is out of business. I am looking for a product that is similar to Suntuitive's product where it is an interlayer in the IGU and 'changes color' based on the heat/sun. Any thoughts on other products/manufacturers? anon (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 02:27 pm:    SageGlass? ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1296 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 04:22 pm:    Sage is electrochromic. Great product but not the same. Jeffrey, it sounds like you're describing a thermochromic glass that doesn't require wiring or switches, etc. It's strictly activated by heat and light, right? ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1297 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 04:28 pm:    Correction. Thermochromic is defined as being activated by heat. Technically I think photochromic would be activated by light. I don't know that any glass or film manufacturers make that distinction, do they? Would you settle for a film if you can't find a glass manufacturer that laminates it into a glass unit? I think they might be easier to find. Not sure how good the products are. Jeffrey Potter Senior Member Username: jpotter Post Number: 15 Registered: 02-2017 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 05:03 pm:    Ken, yes that is correct. Looking for something that is strictly activated by heat and light. I found a product by Innovative Glass Corp that might work, but looking for others in case their price is too high. I would have to ask the design team, but potentially for the film, that might work. I'm pretty sure the alternate would just be Sage, OR eliminate all together and just go with a Low-E. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1298 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 05:18 pm:    A caution if I may. Please ask the designers to request lots of samples so they're not surprised by available (or lack of available) colors. Not everyone is aware of product limitations including some sales reps. Please let us know if you find anyone else and how it's received. This technology makes a lot of sense if it works with your design. Good luck! Russ Hinkle, AIA, CDT, LEED BD+C Senior Member Username: rhinkle Post Number: 148 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2020 - 08:19 pm:    From my Architect friend who is now in the contractor/installer business: "Actually they just “mothballed” the product. Suntuitive is still viable, they just suspended production indefinitely due to minimal demand in the US which was further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific to thermochromic glazing they were the only game in town, a unique one-of-a-kind product. There are electrochromic options via Sage and View, however they are dangerously close to making a similar call as Suntuitive…..expensive technology that is utilized in Europe but not fully embraced by the developer mentality dominant in the US economy. Personally I thought Suntuitive was a great product, however at $40 - $45/sf for an insulated lowE unit vs $9-$11/SF for a traditional insulated lowE unit it was a hard sell. Those that understood and embraced the technology were sold instantly those that were looking for economy dismissed it immediately." Russ Hinkle Dan Helphrey Senior Member Username: dbhelphrey Post Number: 62 Registered: 12-2018 Posted on Thursday, September 03, 2020 - 03:50 pm:    There are a number of photochromic films on the market. As far as I can tell, photochromic glass is only used for eyeglasses. James Sandoz, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: jsandoz Post Number: 302 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Friday, September 04, 2020 - 09:26 am:    I had a pair of "Photo Gray" glasses in the mid-1970s. A current proprietary name is "Transitions." It was new technology then and very "cool." They worked fine for several months then one day stayed dark permanently. I'm sure the technology has improved in the ensuing 40 years. One of my high school pictures (junior year IIRC) has me wearing the darkened aviators suggesting that I might have something to hide. It was the '70s after all. I didn't [have anything to hide]. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1299 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Friday, September 04, 2020 - 09:51 am:    Wow, James, you REMEMBER the 70's? I know I was there but it's all a bit of a blur. Russ, I've found that the *chromic glass options are actually very competitive with automatic shades especially when utilizing sensors. The shades become unnecessary with the active glass. I think buildings without shades look much better unless the shades are uniformly up or down across the entire elevation. When down, especially partially, I think they tend to detract from the beauty of most buildings but that's my personal opinion. Brett Scarfino (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, September 04, 2020 - 05:19 pm:    Recall transition lenses being a silver ion phenomena. UV exposure would cause the silver ions to precipitate out to form nano-particles within the glass, which would block some of the light. Silver is a tiny ion, easily diffuses through interstitial spaces in the lattice. I bet a little heat would re-dissolve back into solution. Would like to think we'll eventually see a thermo-optic low-e coating that'll change refractive index in the IR spectrum only with temperature; i.e. high temperature = high SHGC, low temperature = low SHGC. Wishful thinking, maybe. Sorry for the tangent. Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 1466 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Monday, September 14, 2020 - 04:30 pm:    the manufacturers absolutely make the distinction between thermochromic and photochromic. But- the problem is that many clients want the option to control the color change, so they usually end up being electrochromic. I've never had a client who was willing to just let the glass change color by itself, which might mean that different windows in the same space were different colors, or even different windows in the same bay were different colors, depending on the exposure. (James: I still get photochromic glasses for everything except my computer glasses. It is too glary here for my eyesight.) James Sandoz, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: jsandoz Post Number: 303 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 08:59 am:    This is off the subject but somewhat related to how glass is treated. I've been wearing prescription lenses since high school (progressive bi-focals now). For some time I've had prescription sunglasses primarily for driving. In the past I would get polarized lenses but my current automobile has a LCD touch screen for many of the climate and audio functions. Guess what; with polarized lenses one has to turn his head a certain way, and very precisely, to see the display. Back to the optometrist for me. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 1300 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 10:17 am:    Makes sense James. I've often hoped that car manufacturers would polarize windshields and headlights at right angles to each other so we wouldn't be blinded by oncoming traffic. Not much chance of that happening unfortunately. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 777 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 10:18 am:    Wow, James, we all know that society today is more polarized that ever, but I didn't realize things had gone that far!!