| Author |
Message |
Tom Howe (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - 02:24 pm: |    |
My cell is very little affected but my satelite radio stopped completely each new EGlass window I put in and it was 3 moves (new window installs matching exactly) before I realized the glass was the cause. GPS will not go thru either. |
Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: rlmat
Post Number: 611
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 - 04:56 pm: | |
My GPS doesn't work well in downtown LA because of the tall buildings. I suspect the same is true in NYC?
Also, when travelling through Yosemite a few years ago, the tree cover wreaked havoc with my GPS.
Yes, the metallic content of the Low-e coating can have an effect, but I think there is more to it than just that.
On a related note - I had a client complain that the "whiteboards" we installed were "ghosting". Further investigation revealed that someone had used permanent marker! Oops!
Client complaints are not always well-founded on actual fact.
So, to complain that the low-e glass is the sole culprit for the cell phone interference is premature, pending additional investigation as has been suggested here. |
Brett Scarfino (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 04:57 pm: | |
A few thoughts that convinced me it is possible:
1) Metals and other conductors generally interact with/attenuate radio waves/microwaves, therefore one would expect some amount of interaction with a thin metallic film(s).
2) Low-e coatings are tailored to interact with the infrared region. Microwave and infrared are close neighbors on the E-spectrum; i.e. likely some overlap, just as with visible red.
3) Advancements in low-e coating technology have progressively added more and more layers of silver. I think industry uses up to 3 layers now, in the name of neutral/clear glazing with SHGC under 0.3. More stuff, more layers likely means more and more attenuation.
4) Pilkington offers an RF-shielding/cyber security glass (Viracon as well, I believe utilizing Pilkington's approach). Via patent search, my understanding is that high RF-attenuation is achieved by physically grounding the low-e coating(s) to the aluminum framing system. The conductive framing system may also need to be grounded.
As Mr. Coady suggested, a number of the larger projects I've worked on incorporate repeaters throughout the project. |
tech dude (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - 03:18 pm: | |
Low E does affect RF signals in both the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands. We have done testing and can block up to 95% of RF in these bands. Its the LEED certificate that's driving this low E glass in newer buildings. In our testing with normal doulble pane glass DB loss is minimal. All newer buildings where I work have this issue. With buildings 10 years or older no issues. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 746
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - 07:27 am: | |
While LEED might be the most visible "driver" in using low-glass, mos code jurisdictions one have energy codes in effect that will require the use of low-e insulated glazing for compliance. |
Brett Scarfino (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - 05:32 pm: | |
PPG released a technical document a few months ago on how their coatings interact with RF.
http://buyat.ppg.com/glasstechlib/128_TD-151-Radio%20and%20Microwave%20Frequency%20Attenuation%20in%20Glass.pdf |
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