Design and implementation of an adjustable Micro PDLC Driver for smart buildings

Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) glass, with its controllable light transmittance enabling shading and energy savings, is widely used in green and smart buildings as a key technology for smart windows and privacy glass. However, traditional PDLC drivers are bulky, consume high energy, and offer limited functionality, restricting their application in multi-panel glass control and space-constrained scenarios. This study proposes a low-power, adjustable mini driver that utilizes Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals and a full-bridge inverter architecture to generate AC square waves. By integrating simple analog and digital circuit designs, digital resistors, and specialized adjustable power modules, remote voltage and frequency modulation control is achieved, enabling efficient and flexible PDLC driver development. Compared to traditional transformer designs, the developed driver not only offers the advantages of miniaturization and high efficiency but also can flexibly adapt to diverse application scenarios such as office privacy glass, smart buildings, and multi-zone linkage control. This research provides an effective solution for the widespread application of PDLC technology and the advancement of smart buildings. Finally, the functionality of the proposed design is verified through hardware circuit implementation and experimental validation.

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Publication Details

Journal
HardwareX
Published
2025-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00648
Primary Topic
Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Design and implementation of an adjustable Micro PDLC Driver for smart buildings

Kun-Che Ho, Jian Liao, Chenxi Wu, Ruifeng Xu
1 links
HardwareX
Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
article

Design and implementation of an adjustable Micro PDLC Driver for smart buildings

Kun-Che Ho, Jian Liao, Chenxi Wu, Ruifeng Xu
article en

Abstract

Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) glass, with its controllable light transmittance enabling shading and energy savings, is widely used in green and smart buildings as a key technology for smart windows and privacy glass. However, traditional PDLC drivers are bulky, consume high energy, and offer limited functionality, restricting their application in multi-panel glass control and space-constrained scenarios. This study proposes a low-power, adjustable mini driver that utilizes Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals and a full-bridge inverter architecture to generate AC square waves. By integrating simple analog and digital circuit designs, digital resistors, and specialized adjustable power modules, remote voltage and frequency modulation control is achieved, enabling efficient and flexible PDLC driver development. Compared to traditional transformer designs, the developed driver not only offers the advantages of miniaturization and high efficiency but also can flexibly adapt to diverse application scenarios such as office privacy glass, smart buildings, and multi-zone linkage control. This research provides an effective solution for the widespread application of PDLC technology and the advancement of smart buildings. Finally, the functionality of the proposed design is verified through hardware circuit implementation and experimental validation.

HardwareXVol. 22
National Formosa University (TW)
Sustainable cities and communities, Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 94%
Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
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