Creating Energy Efficient Glass Surfaces & Challenges

Flat glass is an essential material in modern architecture and the car industry, providing both natural light and spatial benefits. However, it can also be a source of energy inefficiency in buildings and vehicles due to heat loss and gain. Although glass is the best material in terms of illumination, energy needs to be conserved within the building in architecture and kept out of the cabin of the vehicle in transportation. Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings offer a solution by improving the energy performance of glass. These coatings allow visible light to pass through while reflecting far-infrared heat. This not only maintains illumination in buildings but also reduces solar heat gain, leading to improved energy efficiency. While Low-E coatings are highly effective in enhancing energy efficiency, they can pose a threat to birds due to their invisibility in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, which birds can see. To address this, UV-reflective or absorbing patterns can be applied using Magnetron Sputtering Vapor Deposition (MSVD) technology, making them visible to birds while remaining inconspicuous to humans.
The world’s primary modes of transportation are facing two major problems: rising oil costs and increasing carbon emissions. As a result, electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining popularity as they are independent of oil and do not produce greenhouse gases. However, despite their benefits, several operational issues still need to be addressed for EV adoption to become widespread, like scarcity of charging stations and limited range of batteries. We know that both cold and hot weather can have a significant impact on the range of electric cars, therefore any technology which reduce the use of air conditioning will contribute the sustainable transportation. In modern cars, low-e coatings are used in windshields and sunroofs. While Low-E coatings are beneficial for energy efficiency in cars, they can also attenuate the signal strength of mobile communication devices and autonomous driving technologies. To address this, researchers are exploring passive solutions like frequency-selective surfaces or active antenna technologies for vehicle glass.

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Biography

Ozan Özer is a Material Scientist by education and working as a responsible Coating Technologies Director in Sisecam, Science, Technology and Design Center. Sisecam is such a unique company in glass market involved in manufacturing of all products segments such as flat glass, glassware, packaging, automotive glass, solar glass, glass fiber, soda and chromium compounds. After 15 years of manufacturing experience in Sisecam Flat Glass division, he is now leading the coating development studies in all product segments of Sisecam.