Smart Glass Installation

Smart glass installs like ordinary glass

Here's the part most people don't expect: installing smart glass is barely different from installing a normal pane of glass. The switchable PDLC layer is laminated and sealed inside the glass panel at the factory, so on site it behaves exactly like any premium architectural glass unit. Your glazier, your general contractor, or our own LA crew sets it into the opening or frame the same way they'd set any other glass — no specialized "smart glass installer" required.

The only real difference: two wires

A regular glass unit has nothing to connect. A smart glass panel has two thin low-voltage leads coming out of the edge. On install, those two wires are routed to a concealed transformer — and from the transformer to your wall switch, app, or voice control. That's the one and only step that separates installing smart glass from installing ordinary glass.

Why it's easier — and lower-risk — than smart film

Smart film is applied to existing glass, and a clean film install is a genuine skill: it has to be squeegeed on flat, perfectly aligned, and sealed at the edges. Done poorly, you can get bubbles, lifting corners, or trapped dust, and the film can eventually peel.

Smart glass skips all of that. Because the PDLC is sealed between two sheets of glass at the factory, there's nothing to apply, align, or squeegee on site — nothing to bubble, and nothing to lift. The switchable layer is protected by glass on both sides for the life of the panel. It's why a contractor with no smart-glass experience can install it with confidence.

How a smart glass install goes

• We fabricate to size — panels built to your exact opening, the PDLC laminated inside, with the two leads pre-attached and factory-tested.
• Set the glass — your glazier, GC, or our LA team glazes the panel into the opening like any other unit.
• Connect two wires — route the leads to the transformer, and wire the transformer to a switch, app, or smart-home control.
• Switch it on — power on is clear, power off is frosted. Done.

Smart glass for new construction

Smart glass delivers its best results when it's specified during design, not bolted onto a finished set of drawings. Early coordination lets the architect and builder plan for glass dimensions, structural support, electrical routing, and transformer placement before walls close.

Architectural specification — We provide specification sheets, CAD details, and glass weight data for the construction documents, and coordinate directly with your architect or design team on dimensions, glass thickness, and edge details during design development.

Structural coordination — Laminated smart glass panels are heavier than standard insulated units, roughly 6–8 lbs per square foot depending on glass thickness. Your structural engineer and framing contractor need that number to size headers, mullions, and support hardware.

Electrical rough-in — Panels run on low-voltage 60V AC wiring from a transformer to each opening. During rough-in the electrician pulls conduit or low-voltage cable to a junction point at every opening; we supply wiring diagrams and transformer specs before that stage begins.

Installation timing — Panels go in after framing and rough electrical are complete but before final finishes. We schedule delivery and installation with the general contractor, typically once window frames are set and before interior trim.

Smart glass for window replacement

Smart glass is also the right call when windows are coming out anyway as part of a renovation. If the frames are being replaced, upgrading to switchable glass adds privacy without any of the limits of a retrofit.

Full-frame replacement — We fabricate panels sized to the new frames. Your window contractor sets the frames; we install the smart glass units and handle the electrical connections.

Shower enclosures — The preferred solution for shower privacy, because the PDLC layer is sealed inside the laminate, protected from water, steam, and cleaning products. There are no film edges to peel or delaminate in a wet room.

Exterior windows — For glass exposed to rain, coastal salt air, or direct sun, the sealed laminated construction outlasts a surface-applied film and keeps moisture and UV off the switchable layer.

Storefronts and curtain walls — Commercial replacement projects use smart glass for switchable privacy across large glazed areas. We fabricate panels up to roughly 4 by 8 feet, and larger openings divide into multiple panels with minimal visible seams.

Picture windows and exterior glass, sealed for the long run

When the frames are already coming out, a laminated smart-glass picture window gives you switchable privacy with the PDLC layer sealed inside the unit — protected from rain, coastal salt air, and UV. Frosted at the tap of a switch, clear when you want the view, with no surface film to peel at the edges.

Custom fabrication, in our own shop

Every panel is laminated at our facility in Canoga Park. In-house fabrication is what gives us control over quality, lead times, and the custom specs an off-the-shelf product can't match.

Every Los Angeles panel is laminated and tested in our own Canoga Park shop, then set and wired by the same crew on site.— Smart View, founded 2024

Step 1: Design consultation and measurement — We review architectural drawings or visit the site to confirm exact dimensions, glass thickness, edge treatments, and electrical connection points. New construction works from the architect's drawings; replacement projects get field-measured opening by opening.

Step 2: Glass and PDLC specification — We select the tempered glass thickness (typically 3/16" or 1/4" per lite), the PDLC interlayer grade, and any additional layers such as low-E coatings or tinting. For IGU configurations we specify the air gap, spacer type, and gas fill.

Step 3: Lamination — The PDLC interlayer is positioned between the two tempered lites and bonded under controlled heat and pressure. Busbars — the copper electrical contacts — are integrated during this step and sealed inside the laminate edge.

Step 4: Quality testing — Every panel is electrically tested for switching speed, clarity in the clear state, uniform opacity in the frosted state, and correct voltage draw. Panels that don't meet standard never leave the facility.

Step 5: Delivery and installation — Finished panels are crated and delivered to site. Our team sets the glass, makes the electrical connections, integrates the control system, and does final testing on site.

Typical lead times: three to five weeks from confirmed order to delivery for standard projects; six to eight weeks for complex or oversized work. Engage us during design so fabrication lines up with your construction schedule.

Electrical requirements

Smart glass runs on 60V AC low-voltage power from a step-down transformer. Planning that properly matters most in new construction, where the wiring is routed at rough-in.

Transformer — Each circuit needs a transformer converting 120V AC line power to 60V AC. One transformer can drive multiple panels depending on total square footage, and it's usually mounted in a closet, mechanical room, or above a drop ceiling — out of sight but reachable for service.

Wiring to each panel — Low-voltage cable (typically 18/2 or 16/2) runs from the transformer to a junction point at each panel. In new construction it routes through wall cavities or conduit at rough-in; on replacements it can often be fished through existing cavities or hidden in trim channels.

Power consumption — Roughly 5 watts per square meter in the clear state; zero in the frosted state, since privacy is the default with the power off. A typical shower panel uses less electricity than an LED bulb.

Control options — Wall switch, wireless remote, smartphone app, or integration with Lutron, Savant, Crestron, Control4, Alexa, and Google Home. We handle the control wiring and programming as part of the installation.

Coordination with your electrician — We supply a wiring diagram and transformer specification sheet before rough-in, specifying transformer location, cable routing, and junction box positions for every panel, so the low-voltage infrastructure is ready when our team arrives with the glass.

Who can install it — and where we install

Any competent glass installer or contractor can set smart glass. Because the smart part is sealed inside the glass, there's no smart-glass certification or special training needed — which is exactly why we can fabricate panels here and ship them anywhere in the country for a local glazier to install with simple wiring guidance.

Want us to handle it? Our own team installs across the Los Angeles metro and travels for larger residential and commercial projects throughout Southern California — including San Diego, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, and the Bay Area.

LA Westside — Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Pacific Palisades, Culver City, West Hollywood, Malibu. Central LA — Hollywood, Downtown LA, Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, Silver Lake, Echo Park. San Fernando Valley — Canoga Park (our home base), Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills. South Bay — Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance. Inland — San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Riverside. Beyond LA we travel for larger projects across Orange County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, the desert (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage), and out of state to Las Vegas NV and Lake Havasu City AZ — full list on our service areas page.

Smart glass or smart film?

Building new or replacing glazing? Smart glass — it installs like regular glass and seals the switching inside. Keeping the glass you already have? Smart film retrofits the same switching onto your existing windows. Both are compared, with numbers, on our cost page. See finished work in our projects.

Get your estimate

Tell us about your project. Request your estimate or call (866) 728-9888 — we'll confirm the right configuration, send fabrication-ready specs, and quote it.