Installation
Smart glass installation and the retrofit alternative
You can buy switchable glass, or you can make the glass you already own switchable. The install sequence — and the disruption — is very different.
Interactive visualization — not a photograph of a completed installation.
"Smart glass installation" usually means one of two things. Either a laminated switchable glass unit is manufactured and glazed into an opening, or a PDLC film is applied to glass that is already installed. We specialise in the second route, and we will tell you plainly when the first is the better answer.
Laminated smart glass units
In new construction, a switchable interlayer can be laminated inside the glass at the factory. The unit arrives complete and is glazed like any other panel, with a wire tail that the electrician terminates. It is a clean answer when the opening does not exist yet and the glazing package is still open.
The trade-offs are lead time, cost of the full glazing unit, crane or lift access for large panels, and the fact that any future change means replacing glass rather than replacing film.
PDLC film retrofit
A retrofit keeps the existing glass, frames, hardware and structural detailing. Film is fabricated to the measured pane, dry-applied to the interior face, wired to a low-voltage supply and commissioned. Nothing is demolished, nothing is re-glazed, and a finished room is usually back in use the same day.
For occupied homes, leased offices, medical suites and condominium units with association approval processes, this is normally the only realistic path.
- No glazing removal or structural work
- Works with existing frames, doors and shower hardware
- Panel-by-panel scope — one pane or an entire floor
- Film can be replaced later without touching the glass
Choosing between them
If the building is being designed now and the glass has not been ordered, ask your glazier about laminated switchable units and ask us to review the control and power plan alongside them. If the glass exists — which describes almost every project we are called to in Palm Beach County — the film retrofit is faster, less invasive and far easier to phase.
FAQ
Questions, answered directly
Keep reading
Related pages
Next step
Schedule a smart film consultation
We review your glass, wiring path and control preference, then give you a planning range and a realistic programme.