Birds colliding with glass on buildings are a global concern. Several hundred million birds are killed as a result of collisions with glass in buildings. Collisions occur both in longer term habitats and during migration by flying into glass windows, link bridges, and curtain walls that reflect the open sky and vegetation. As transparency in façades is still very much valued in connection with human wellbeing, reduced lighting requirements and as an aesthetic element, several technical developments have taken place to incorporate bird-deterrent elements into glazing solutions. In some cases, these bird-deterrent elements are interfering with solar or low-e glass coatings needed to ensure the performance of the glazing. In addition, some bird-deterrent solutions may affect design intent or user experience. In this contribution, PVB interlayers for highly effective and low-surface-coverage bird-friendly laminated safety glass will be described. In particular, it will be shown how these can be combined with conventional glass coatings without loss of performance for e.g. solar factor or U-value, while effectiveness as a bird deterrent solution is maintained.
Alex Caestecker
Combining bird protection with functional glass coatings in laminated safety glass
Company: Solutia bvba, Gent, Belgium
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