Safety glazing
Is switchable glass safety glazing?
The laminated products are: PriWatt switchable glass is certified under SGCC 9894, made from low-iron glass that is heat-treated or fully tempered, and laminated. That is the answer for a panel PriWatt manufactures.
It is not the answer for self-adhesive film applied to glass that is already in the building — and the difference decides whether a door, a shower enclosure or a railing is compliant. The rest of this page is that distinction, and where the code asks the question in the first place.
The openings the code calls hazardous locations
Safety glazing is not a whole-building requirement. The building code names specific locations where glass is likely to be walked into, fallen against or leaned on, and requires safety glazing in each of them. Every one of these is somewhere switchable glass is regularly specified:
| Location | Why the code names it | On this site |
|---|---|---|
| Glazing in doors | Somebody walks into it. Swinging, sliding and folding leaves alike | Doors |
| Glazing beside a door | The panel next to a door is mistaken for the opening | Doors |
| Wet enclosures | Showers, bathtubs, steam rooms and pool surrounds — a fall onto glass, on a wet floor | Shower enclosures |
| Guards and railings | The glass is the barrier. It is holding people back from a drop | Railings and balustrades |
| Glazing near stairs, landings and ramps | A fall arrives at the glass rather than at the floor | Railings and balustrades |
| Large panels close to the floor | A low, wide pane reads as an opening at walking speed | Doors, partitions |
| Sloped and overhead glazing | Governed separately, and by its own provisions rather than these | Skylights and overhead |
Which provisions apply to a particular opening depends on the code edition adopted locally and on the authority having jurisdiction. What is portable from project to project is the certificate, and that is what a submittal carries.
A certification, not a test result
The Safety Glazing Certification Council is a third-party body. Certification is not a single passed test — it requires submission to approved independent laboratories, impact and breakage testing, demonstrated reduction in injury risk, and continuing compliance through ongoing inspection and audit. A certificate that is current means the product is still being checked.
ANSI Z97.1
The American standard for safety glazing materials used in buildings: impact performance and how the glazing behaves when it fails.
CPSC 16 CFR 1201
The US federal safety standard for architectural glazing materials — a regulation rather than a voluntary standard, which is why it is the one cited in disputes.
CAN/CGSB 12.1
The Canadian standard for tempered and laminated safety glass, which matters on the projects delivered across the border.
And separately, UL E514182
Safety glazing says nothing about the electrical system. That is a different file, evaluated by UL Solutions, and a switchable panel needs both.
Film does not make existing glass into safety glazing
Self-adhesive switchable film is applied to glazing that is already in the building. The film is not the glazing, and applying it does not change what the pane underneath is certified as.
So in a hazardous location the question is about the existing glass: was it safety glazing when it was installed, and is there a record of it? In a building that was built to code and has not been altered, usually yes — a door glazed to code is still glazed to code with film on it. In a building where the glazing has been changed, or where nobody can say what was installed, that is a question to answer before the film is ordered rather than after it is applied.
| Laminated switchable glass | Film on existing glazing | |
|---|---|---|
| Safety glazing certification | SGCC 9894, on the panel PriWatt makes | A question about the glass that is already there |
| The glass | Low iron, heat-treated or fully tempered | Whatever was installed |
| What the submittal carries | The certificate, for this product | The original glazing record, if one exists |
| Where it suits a hazardous location | Made for it | Where the existing glass is already compliant |
This is the one place where the cheaper route is not simply the cheaper route. The trade-offs between the two are set out in full on smart glass or smart film.
Where this comes up, by format
Doors
A door and the panels beside it are hazardous locations whether they switch or not.
Shower enclosures
A wet enclosure, and the one room where normal mode is the correct specification.
Railings and balustrades
The glass is the barrier. Certification is one half; the structural design is the other.
Skylights and overhead
Governed by the sloped-glazing provisions rather than by these, and reviewed with the AHJ.
Common questions
The laminated products are, under SGCC 9894. They are made from low-iron glass, heat-treated or fully tempered, and laminated around the switchable layer. The certificate is supplied in full with the submittal.
No. Film is applied to glazing that is already installed, and it does not change what that pane is certified as. In a hazardous location the question is whether the existing glass was safety glazing to begin with — which in a building built to code and unaltered it usually was, but it is worth confirming before ordering rather than after applying.
ANSI Z97.1, the US federal regulation CPSC 16 CFR 1201, and CAN/CGSB 12.1 in Canada. Certification is not a single passed test: it requires independent laboratory testing, demonstrated reduction in injury risk, and ongoing inspection and audit.
In the locations it names as hazardous — glazing in doors and beside them, wet enclosures such as showers and pool surrounds, guards and railings, glazing near stairs and ramps, and large panels close to the floor. Sloped and overhead glazing is governed separately. Which provisions apply to a given opening is set by the code edition adopted locally and by the authority having jurisdiction.
No, and the two are often confused. Safety glazing is about what the glass does when somebody hits it. Fire-rated glazing is about holding a fire, and switchable glass is not fire-rated glazing. What it does have is independent material fire-performance data — smoke, heat release and toxicity — set out separately.
No. SGCC covers the glazing; the electrical system is evaluated under UL file E514182. A switchable panel needs both, and both certificates go into the submittal.
Reading beside this
No SGCC certification? You are taking a risk
The argument rather than the reference: what an uncertified panel exposes, and four questions to ask any supplier.
Fire, smoke and toxicity
Tested at Intertek against NFPA 130 — and why a material fire test is not a fire rating.
Patents and certifications
UL E514182, SGCC 9894 and the patents behind the busbar anchoring, with the documents.
Send the opening and the location
Which opening, what is glazed there now, and what the drawing calls for. The certificates go into the submittal in full, and where the answer is that film is the wrong route for that location, you get told at enquiry stage. Pompano Beach, Florida; (833) 333-8556.