Daylight characteristics of a polymer dispersed liquid crystal switchable glazing

- Daylight indices and factors have been calculated for a PDLC glazing “translucent” and “transparent” states.
- Voltage dependant transmission of a PDLC glazing is reported.
- Experiment was performed using outdoor test cell.

The daylighting performance of a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) switchable glazing has been evaluated using an unfurnished outdoor south-facing test cell with a glazing-to-wall ratio of 1:9. Useful daylight illuminance levels (UDI) were determined for clear sunny, intermittent cloudy and overcast cloudy days. Daylight glare indexes (DGIN) was calculated for the PDLC glazing in its transparent and translucent states. An electrically-actuated adaptive PDLC switchable glazing with transparency that varied between 27% and 71% was able to control daylight glare.