Besides the ongoing optimization of glass coatings for sustainable and green building designs, the façade and glass industry must start focussing more on human needs leading to a more human centric design of glass coatings. Our modern solar control coatings feature highly spectral selective transmittances to reduce solar heat gain through the glass and consequent reduction of the building’s cooling loads. This spectral selectivity causes that the building’s occupants get a more or less “filtered” light and solar spectrum transmitted through the glass. This transmitted spectrum is, to a certain extent, only a fraction of the natural solar spectrum that we would be exposed to outdoors – especially for the modern triple silver and quad silver solar control coatings referring to the long wave infrared spectrum above 780nm wavelength. It is currently unknown how this affects the human wellbeing, opposite to the blue range spectrum around 490nm wavelength where recent research unveiled the importance for the human circadian rhythm. Besides the traditional light transmittance of glass, a new melanopic transmission factor of glass with focus on the wavelength important for the human’s circadian rhythm is discussed.
Benjamin Beer
Human Centric Design – The Need to Re-Evaluate Modern Solar Control and Low-E Coated Glass
Company: Werner Sobek, Dubai, UAE
About the speaker:
After working as Senior Façade Consultant in leading positions in London, New York and Stuttgart, Benjamin Beer founded Werner Sobek Dubai as Executive Vice President in 2007. He later joined the Werner Sobek Head Office in Germany and acted as Team Leader. In 2012, he joined Meinhardt Façade Technology as Technical Director. After being Head of Façade at Ramboll Dubai from 2018 to 2020, he re-joined Werner Sobek Dubai as Managing Director. He was author of various façade engineering publications, acted as region chairman of the Society of Façade Engineering (SFE), conference session chairman, event moderator and speaker.