Visual and energy performance of switchable windows with antireflection coatings

The aim of this project was to investigate how the visual appearance and energy performance of switchable or smart windows can be improved by using antireflective coatings. For this study clear float glass, low-e glass and electrochromic glass were treated with antireflection (AR) coatings. Such a coating considerably increases the transmittance of solar radiation in general and the visible transmittance in particular. For switchable glazing based on absorptive electrochromic layers in their dark state it is necessary to use a low-emissivity coating on the inner pane of a double glazed window in order to reject the absorbed heat. In principle all surfaces can be coated with AR coatings, and it was shown that a thin AR coating on the low-e surface neither influences the thermal emissivity nor the U-value of the glazing. The study showed that the use of AR coatings in switchable glazing significantly increases the light transmittance in the transparent state. It is believed that this is important for a high level of user acceptance of such windows. Crown Copyright 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.