Sun too bright?  Turn the windows off.  Million dollar view?  Then just turn the windows down a bit, and keep enjoying it.  Too hot on one side of the car?  Cool it by dimming the windows.  You’ll keep all the passengers comfortable, and save gas by being able to cut back on the air conditioning. 

 The magic letters are SPD. "S" for "suspended", as in, "Suspend your preconceptions about how windows are supposed to work,"; "P" for "particle," as in, "There is considerably more than a particle of value in this new technology,"; and "D" for "device," as in, "No, this is not another device designed to part you from your money while offering no appreciable benefit." Suspended particle device "smart" glass, also known as SPD-Smart Glass (and about a dozen different names from a dozen different manufacturers) is at last emerging from a pipeline which reaches back to 1965 in the "modern" era, and further back to Edwin Land of the Polaroid Land camera at its origins. SPD-Smart Glass runs on a miniscule electrical current, and is dark when you turn it off (just like your everyday light bulb.) And, just like your everyday light bulb, SPD Smart Glass will transmit light when you turn it on. But a leap of light years separates its technology from that of your ordinary light bulb, because SPD Smart Glass is infinitely and instantly adjustable between its dark and light states.

Toyota’s Hino Bus subsidiary introduced this glass in its flagship model, the Selega Premium, in October, and the wider automotive industry will not be far behind. Architects around the world are very interested because of global warming, the soaring costs of energy, and SPD’s "cool factor (both climactic and cultural.) It’s not a household option just yet, but is available in aftermarket sunroofs from American Glass Products, and they are surprisingly competitively priced. You can learn more at SmartGlass. 

Photo gallery of types of smart glass windows

Posted by Judy.