Formats
A door is not a partition, and a rooflight is not either
Six products and one technology, and then the opening changes everything about how it is built. A door moves, so the wiring has to cross a joint that moves with it. A shower is wet, so the edge is detailed rather than assumed. A rooflight is a solar problem before it is a privacy one. A railing is a barrier, and the glass has to be a barrier first.
These are the formats PriWatt builds. Each page says which product suits it, which state the panel should hold with no power, what is fixed by the specification and what is decided on the shop drawing.
Doors
The one format where the glass moves, which makes the wiring the detail rather than the panel. Internal doors, entrances and glazed leaves in a partition run.
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Shower enclosures
The room where the glass is the wall. Normal mode is frosted with no power, so a power cut leaves the enclosure private — which is the failure state a bathroom wants.
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Skylights and overhead glazing
Overhead, the problem is usually the sun rather than the neighbours. DLC moves between a tinted transparent state and a deep dark one, which is glare and solar gain rather than privacy.
Read moreCurved glass
The curve is in the glass; the switchable layer follows it. Curved walls, columns and radiused partitions, made to the geometry rather than picked from a list of sizes.
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Railings and balustrades
Two projects in service — a New York waterfront terrace and a North Palm Beach pool deck. Reverse mode holds the view with no power drawn, and frosts for the hour it is wanted.
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Rear-projection surfaces
In its private state the panel is a diffusing surface, which is what a rear-projection screen is. The partition that gives a meeting room privacy is the screen it presents onto.
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Insulated units and facades
A switchable layer inside the insulating unit, on the exterior envelope. What it changes for solar gain, HVAC load and the elevation.
Read moreThe panel limits are the same wherever it goes
Every format is built from the same six products, so it inherits the same maximum panel and the same unpowered state. A format is a question about geometry, wiring and exposure — not about a different material.
| Maximum panel | Unpowered state | |
|---|---|---|
| PDLC film | 72 × 165 in | Private |
| PDLC glass | 70 × 165 in | Private |
| PNLC film and glass (reverse) | 57 × 165 in | Clear |
| DLC film and glass | 57 × 165 in | Private / dark |
| Glass | Low iron, heat-treated or fully tempered |
| Overall thickness | 3/8 · 1/2 · 9/16 in |
| Weight | ~5 lb/sq ft |
| Working voltage | 48 – 80 VAC by product, from an isolation transformer |
| Power | < 0.5 W/sq ft |
| Safety glazing | SGCC 9894 |
| Electrical | UL file E514182 |
| Shapes | Rectangles, curves, holes, notches and cut-outs for hardware |
Larger areas are made by dividing them into panels, which is a joint line rather than a limit. Several small pieces cost more per square foot than a few large ones — the same area, more edges, more connections. What moves the price is set out separately, and every measured value is in one table.
Three decisions, on every format
Which state it holds unpowered
Normal mode is private with no power; reverse mode is clear. Ask which state the room should be in during a power cut, and on the night nobody is in the building — that answer is the product, and it is different for a shower than for a railing.
Glass, or film on the glass
Laminated switchable glass is made for the opening. Self-adhesive film goes onto glazing that is already there, and onto glass PriWatt supplies cut to size for a third party to laminate.
Where the wiring leaves
Every panel has a busbar and a tail. Where that tail exits and where it goes is the detail that decides whether the format is straightforward — and it is agreed on the shop drawing, before anything is made.
Send the opening, not the product code
Sizes, the shapes, whether the glass is already in the building and which state it should hold with no power. That is enough for a price and a lead time. Pompano Beach, Florida; (833) 333-8556.