Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film is an active smart film penetrating the market due to its unique functionalities. These functional characteristics include switchable tint capabilities, which shield building residents from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, improve energy-saving features, and produce higher cost-efficiency. Although PDLC films are promising in several applications, there is still ambiguity on the performance of PDLC films. Particularly, the sizing effects’ (such as film thickness and area) correlation with visible light transmission (VLT), ultraviolet rejection (UVR), infrared rejection (IRR), light intensity, current consumption, and apparent power consumption is not well understood. Therefore, this study investigated the sizing effects of PDLC films, including the thickness effect on VLT, UVR, IRR, light intensity, and area influence on current and apparent power consumptions. The varying applied voltage effect on the light transmittance of the PDLC film was also effectively demonstrated. A 0.1 mm PDLC film was successfully presented as a cost-efficient film with optimal parameters. Consequently, this study paves the way for a clearer understanding of PDLC films (behavior and sizing effects) in implementing economic PDLC films for large-scale adoption in commercial and residential premises.
<p><span lang="EN-US">The evolvement of smart glass technology has gained a lot of interest through its energy-saving potential as one of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. This paper focuses on polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film, a smart glazing film that changes its opacity in response to an electrical impulse. The power consumption of the smart film is considerably small. However, improper handling of the smart film such as not turning off the film after usage can lead to energy wastage. Hence, connecting the smart film to an internet of things (IoT) controller would be one of the possible solutions to ensure that the film is maintained properly. The objective of the work here is to develop a smart, low cost and efficient IoT-enabled smart controller for PDLC films with energy-saving features. In pursuance of materializing this concept, this paper delineates the design of a smart controller for the PDLC films. The implementation of the IoT features, NodeMCU, and environmental sensors enabled the smart film to be capable of switching automatically. In addition, voice-command features were also incorporated into the controller. With the successful development of the IoT smart controller, the PDLC films can operate autonomously and wirelessly.</span></p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.