I was tired of my common louvers in my desk: almost always closed, a lot of dust on them, no sun.
I have dual windows. Here in Canada, we have that kind of windows: 2 single glass separated by a 10cm gap. It's not like in Europe (dual or triple glass window), but a dual sliding single glass window
I wanted privacy because this room is my "techno room", filled with a lot of IT stuff. And visible from the street. Quiet street, but visible. I had the idea to put a mirror film on it. The result is nice, except that the room is even more visible on the night (I'm a night owl) because you can see through when it's dark outside...
So, I added a PDLC film on the inner side of the window to add some privacy when it's dark.
Some automation: the pdlc film is ON (=transparent) along the day. When it's partially dark and when I enter my room, main light is ON (presence sensor) and the pdlc is OFF but goes ON when I leave. After sunset, when I enter my room, the pdlc goes OFF and remains off until the sunrise. Added a pico to "activate/deactivate" my film on demand.
Note: pdlc OFF means no electricity on it = opaque. ON means electricity = transparent. And the power used is very very light (5w/square meter when ON, nothing when OFF)
I have a similar setup. Out of curiosity what film are you using? Mine is Varioglass a company out of Quebec. I found it was opaque enough so it wasn't see through but it didn't leave the room dark enough to use my computer during direct sun on the room hours (3-8 currently)
So I also put up some Ikea Fyrtur Blinds and now the room is wonderfully dark and cool.
I haven't added them to hubitat yet mainly because I am happy to use the button to control them as I hardly ever open/close them and from my understanding you have to choose either the button or hubitat controlling them.
My goal was to avoid blinds totally and it worked for the rest of my house just the office was not dark enough.
I did the same in our bathrooms. Avoids needing blinds or shades and works great! It will automatically become opaque when the lights are turned on and when it is made transparent, the lights get turned off.
I got mine from Smart Tint a few years back:
Their website is absolutely terrible, but their product is really good - easy to apply and works very well. The price was reasonable, even when shipped to Canada.
@ awagsii
I like mine very much. Far better than any blind. more sun into the room along the day. Very transparent.
I ordred mine from China (HoHOfilms) after ordering some samples from various "manufacturers" (looks the same to me).
Paid about 150$ CAD per square meter (125 USD), shipping included, with remote (useless to me) and AC power supply. Must finish the sides (silicon) and add a slider contactor (because my windows are sliding). Not difficult to install (just follow the instructions).
Did you purchase the glass (film sandwiched between 2 glasses) or the film ?
I checked their website and it gave me some ideas about 2-3 remaining tiny air bubbles (not hair or dust, just few air bubbles): it seems that they are using a heat gun to finish the work.
Will test on a sample I have... They are almost unnoticeable, but I like to have a perfect work (if it's possible).
I use the shelly-1 to cut the wire when needed. Normally, the rule I set is enough but I added a pico, just in case I want to "open" them in the end of the day.
I purchased the film. I removed the parts of the window that hold the glass and drilled small holes in the frame to pass the cables. It provides a really nice result! I switch it with an Inovelli On/Off switch.
