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2004 Survey of United States Architects on the Subject of Switchable Glazings
Published: 2015/6/22 14:27:37
2004 Survey of United States Architects on the Subject of Switchable Glazings
G.M. Sottile

Research Frontiers Incorporated, Woodbury, NY



Key Words: Switchable glazings Marketing research




ABSTRACT
The twenty-first century has ushered in an era marked by
the growing integration of technology and other scientific
advances into commercial buildings and residential homes.
Of particular interest to many architects, developers and
builders are "switchable" glazings, a new category of
technologically advanced glass and plastic building
materials that can be used to control light, glare and heat
entering an office or a home. Interest in switchable glazing
technology is influenced by a variety of factors, including
a growing movement to offer sustainable, energy-efficient
building solutions, and the emerging desire by users to
maintain greater control over their working and living
environments.
This paper examines the movement toward sustainable
development and the end-user needs that are driving it.
Further, it presents the results of a proprietary survey
research study of United States architects on the subject of
switchable glazings. This study includes an examination of
the attributes most desired by architects regarding smart
window technology, and provides additional insight into
the potential application of this smart material to the
building community.
INTRODUCTION
Switchable glazings, more commonly referred to as
"smart" glass or plastic depending on the substrate with
which they are integrated, are an emerging category of
products that use electrical voltage or current to manage
light passing through glass or plastic. Switchable glazings
have applicability for a growing number of product
applications including windows, interior partitions,
skylights, automotive mirrors and sunvisors, eyewear,
appliances, instruments, flat panel displays, advertising
signage and more. Various types of switchable glazings
exist, including electrochromic (EC), liquid crystal (LC),
and suspended particle device (SPD). Each type has its
own distinctive physical properties and performance
characteristics, and these differentiating features, coupled
with the timing of their respective introductions, influences
the current landscape of product diffusion in the marketplace.

The business literature readily acknowledges that product
categories move through a series of major stages known as
the product life cycle (PLC). These stages begin with the
introduction stage, advance to the growth and maturity
stages, and conclude with a period of decline [1]. A variety
of data signal that switchable glazings are in the
introductory stage of their PLC, a stage characterized by
low levels of product knowledge and sales volumes that
are growing but below longer-term expectations [2].
Recent evidence indicates that although market awareness
of switchables is moderately strong, knowledge of the
product category is limited. For example, a 2000 study of
United States window manufacturers reported that 71.7%
of executives and managers involved in new product
development or product planning were aware of switchable
glass. However, knowledge of specific characteristics of
switchable glass was limited, with only a portion of all
respondents able to able to cite even the most basic
properties of products in the category. [3].
Further, industry sales for switchable glazings are modest
relative to their promising medium-term forecast. A 2002
study by the Freedonia Group (Cleveland, OH) reports that
demand for smart glass in the United States is projected to
grow at a compound annual rate of approximately 20.0%
through 2006 to $445 million [4]. This rate of industry
growth is nearly five times the 4.3% compound annual
growth rate of total flat glass sales by U.S. producers from
1997 through 2002 [5]. Advanced flat glass, of which
smart glass is a segment that also includes reflective glass,
security glass and other niche glass products, is expected
to account for 22% of the total amount of fabricated glass
in the United States by 2006 [6].
To the extent that these rates of growth are duplicated in
other regions of the world, a high probability exists that
switchable glazings will be among the leading new classes
of technology products in coming years.
DRIVING FORCES
Robust forecasted growth rates in the switchable glazings
market are influenced by a set of factors that are expected
to propel demand in the near-term. These factors, known





as driving forces, are "the major underlying causes of
changing industry and competitive conditions" [7].
Several driving forces are influencing the rising levels of
demand for switchables in the architectural market. These
forces are consistent with the heightened level of attention
devoted to sustainable building designs that attempt to
minimize environmental impact, manage costs, and
maximize user well-being and productivity. These driving
forces are briefly outlined below.
Large-Scale Introduction of Smart Glass
The Freedonia Group (2002) claims that demand for
switchable glazings is driven by the large-scale
introduction of these products for residential homes and
commercial buildings, further noting that windows using
smart glass "offer unprecedented control, aesthetics, and
energy efficiency" [6]. Market demand of a product
category can fall short of its maximum potential when
several conditions exist, including end-users' lack of
product awareness and producer-imposed limits on product
availability and service. Large-scale introduction of
switchable glazings likely will be associated with
increased aggregate marketing and promotional
investments that should raise both awareness and interest
at the end-user and business levels. Likewise, accelerating
sales volumes should support incremental investments in
the distribution infrastructure, further expanding the
availability of switchables.
Steadily Rising Demand for Windows and Doors
Worldwide demand for windows and doors is expected to
climb by 5.7% annually to $147 billion by 2007 [8].
Increased income levels and growth in average home size
will support consumer demand for these products that are
ideally suited for switchable glazings. These forecasts are
consistent with the expected growth rates in U.S. home
improvement spending over the next several years. The
Home Improvement Research Institute forecasts U.S.
home improvement spending in 2007 of $254 billion. This
amount is based on a 4.6% annualized growth rate in
spending from 2003 through 2007 [9].
Interest in Quality-of-life Enabling Technologies
Recent global trends in technology demand highlight
consumer interest in products that improve productivity or
offer greater flexibility and control [10]. For many people,
such technologies are central to supporting one's quality of
life. An example of this driving force is the rapid diffusion
of personal computers in the U.S. By 2001, personal
computers were in 56 million households, equivalent to a
52.3% penetration rate of all households in the country,
and more than three times the 1990 incidence rate [11].
Another example is the high level of consumer interest in
personal digital assistants (PDAs). Worldwide sales of

PDAs totaled nearly 15 million units in 2003, and are
forecast to grow at an annual rate of 18.3% through 2007
[12]. A trend toward technologically advanced smart
homes also is observed in residential housing. ABI
Research reports that the home automation controls
market, estimated to be $1.5 billion in 2003, will grow at
an annual rate of 20.4% through 2008 to $3.8 billion [13].
In addition, smart homes of the new millennium will have
independent networks controlling various systems
including communications, entertainment, lighting,
heating, and security [14]. A recent study found consumers
highly attracted to the convenience that smart homes offer,
with the greatest level of consumer appeal in the area of
climate and lighting monitoring and control [15]. This
trend toward home automation is especially supportive of
the growth of switchable glazings, which easily can be
integrated into these systems to support the energy savings,
security, and aesthetic objectives of homeowners and
commercial developers.
Positive Impact of Daylighting
In addition to reduced energy costs associated with the
introduction of effective daylighting into building
environments, a growing body of evidence indicates the
use of daylighting provides significant benefits in terms of
added productivity and comfort for a building's occupants.
According to the Green Mountain Institute, the leading
factors that improve worker productivity are (most
important listed first): 1.) the quality of lighting, 2,) high
levels of daylighting, 3.) increased individual control over
the workplace environment, 4.) improved acoustics, and
5.) improved indoor air quality [16]. Several studies
indicate that occupant productivity can be increased 15-
20% with proper daylighting [17]. Such gains in
productivity can increase an organization's profit. A
comparative study of the impact of daylighting on sales at
a large retail store chain found that the use of skylights to
introduce daylighting increased sales by 40% [18].
Movement Toward Increased Energy Efficiency
Consumers and businesses alike are under growing
pressure to stabilize or reduce costs associated with energy
consumption. Recent trends in US energy consumption
indicate the nation's energy use is growing at a modest but
somewhat unabated pace. From 1990 through 2002,
residential energy consumption grew at an annual rate of
1.8%, while consumption in the commercial sector grew at
an annualized rate of 2.3% [19]. Worldwide energy
consumption is expected to grow at much faster rates than
that which has been observed recently in the U.S. The
United States Energy Information Administration forecasts

worldwide consumption of commercial energy will 

increase 58% by 2028 [20].






Despite the steady growth in aggregate energy
consumption, evidence suggests efforts toward improved
energy efficiency are gaining ground. The International
Energy Agency (IEA) reports that the economies of its
member countries have reduced their energy consumption
per unit of gross domestic product by 45% since 1973 [21].
Other data correlate with this trend. U.S. shipments of
photovoltaic cells and modules have increased at an annual
rate of 124.9% from 1993 through 2002 [22]. Similar
trends are beginning to emerge in the automotive market as
well. For example, the number of alternative-fueled
vehicles in use in the U.S. has doubled between 1992 and
2002 to 518,919 [23]. Likewise, hybrid vehicle sales in the
U.S. are forecasted to reach 350,000 units in 2008, more
than an eight-fold increase over the estimated 2003 sales
level of 40,000 units [24].
The preceding summary highlights driving forces shaping
demand for switchable glazings. The next section of the
paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of
United States architects on the subject of switchable
glazings.
EXPLORATORY SURVEY OF US ARCHITECTS
Introduction and Methodology
The range of applications for switchable glazings is
extensive. However, it is likely the greatest levels of
demand will be in two areas: 1.) switchable architectural
products like windows, doors, skylights and interior
partitions, and 2.) switchable automotive products like
sunroofs, sunvisors, mirrors and side- and rear-view
windows. In the architectural market, professional
architects play a central role in the design of a substantial
portion of residential and commercial projects. Aggregate
revenues of U.S. architectural firms are estimated to have
exceeded $19.9 billion in 2001, an all-time high [25].
Despite architects' extensive scope of involvement and the
positive expectations of switchable glazings for
architectural applications, no market research studies have
been published to date about the attitudes of architects
regarding switchable glazings.
Such a condition provides an opportunity for a first-of-itskind
exploratory research study of US architects on the
subject of switchable glazings. Exploratory research is
especially useful when little or no data regarding the
attitudes and behaviors of the study population exist.
Practically, the flexible nature of exploratory research
helps the researcher avoid preconceptions and allows for
the capturing of unexpected but valuable insights that
typically yield a depth of understanding not achievable
through a traditional quantitative study [26, 27]. This
particular study provides the foundation for more extensive

quantitative research of architects on the topic of
switchable glazings in the future.
The exploratory research methodology used in this
marketing research study involved in-depth telephone
interviewing of randomly chosen US architects drawn
from a master contact list of architectural firms. The indepth
interviewing approach is used because it can
accommodate the wide range of geographic locations of
those interviewed and also offers some degree of
interviewer control [28]. Discussions with 16 architects
included closed-ended and open-ended questions, with the
former providing directional insights into attitudes and
behavior and the latter offering exploration into areas
deemed important by the architect or the researcher.
Interviews lasted up to 15 minutes or more in length, and
all data collection was conducted during January and early
February 2004.
Study participants are represented from all regions of the
country. Median firm size is 16.5 employees, with a range
within the sample of 3 to 350 employees. Median annual
revenue for these firms is $1.9 million, with ranges from
$1.0 million to $46.2 million. The strong majority of firms
in the sample serve only U.S. clients, while a limited
number have both a domestic and international client base.
The majority of architects provide services for both
residential and commercial projects.
Usage of Glass in General
In general, the U.S. architects interviewed currently are
using the same or more glass in their projects when
compared to five years ago. However, architects whose
primary business focus is residential projects are more
likely to be using more glass in their projects now than
those whose primary focus is commercial projects.
According to those interviewed, growing demand for glass
in residential projects is influenced by several factors,
including: 1.) consumer desire for larger volumes of glass
in homes, and 2.) improvements in glazing materials that
are allowing for the introduction of more glass into
projects. Several residential architects noted the growing
influence of building code requirements mandating
impact-resistant glazings. These codes are described as
especially prominent in areas along the eastern coast of the
U.S. Architects whose projects are influenced by such
codes express an interest in glazing products that dually
address code mandates while also meeting consumer
preferences for daylighting.
One-third of architects whose focus is commercial projects
claim they are using mo re glass now than five years ago.
Many within this group cite heat gain concerns, material
costs, load-bearing considerations, and the growing





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