I've heard anecdotal comments of people experiencing poor cell phone reception after a
building was retrofitted with Low-E windows in China, but that's all.
these types of glazing systems will help reduce EMF's from the exterior. As such, they 'may' reduce cell phone wave lengths as well. I have not come across any studies, but the physics says it is possible.
-russell
I don't see how there could be any effect at all. The wavelengths are
totally incompatible. Low-e coatings block the near-infrared radiation at
wavelengths of 700 to 2400 nanometers. Even at the ultraviolet end, the
wavelengths are around 100 to 400 nanometers. The 3G and 4G networks that
cell phones use are way off from this. Typically, cell phone wavelengths
(at 0.8 to 2.4 Ghz, the RF portion of the spectrum) are about one foot long
(or around 300 million nanometers) - not even in the same ball park.
An ex boss lived in a Passivhaus and he couldn't get signal in the middle
of London.
A triple glazed unit can be quite thick. There were also multiple layers of
foil faced insulation in the walls. The Passivhaus institut may have done
some research on this.
Sent from my Android device. Please excuse typos, etc.
If low-e coating film is a conductor (even poor) it will shield
electro-magnetic waves. The better conductor is the better shield. Some
type of coating uses metal-oxide, which could be conducting.
I'm not ready to dismiss this effect totally. When I look at a plot of Low-E
transmissivity, it's shown to block anything from 800 nanometers on up, although the plot
stops at 2400 (see
http://www.leyboldoptics.com/cms/upload/downloads/S_Low_E_Coating_Apollon.pdf page 2).
Out of curiosity, I did a Google Search for "Low-E windows block cell phone signals" and
found this question raised in various web pages. Expanding on what I had said previously,
I do know of a building in Beijing (China Academy of Building Research) that did a facade
retrofit a few years back, after which the staff reported they could no longer get cell
phone signals. I think I'll send my colleagues an e-mail to ask for more details.
My colleague, expert in low-e coating, told me that silver-based low-e coatings (most of the soft low-e coatings use Silver) will reflect most of the radio frequency waves. Indeed, almost all of the radio power is reflected within the first few atoms of the metal material.
I've heard anecdotal comments of people experiencing poor cell phone reception after a
building was retrofitted with Low-E windows in China, but that's all.
Joe Huang
these types of glazing systems will help reduce EMF's from the exterior. As such, they 'may' reduce cell phone wave lengths as well. I have not come across any studies, but the physics says it is possible.
-russell
I don't see how there could be any effect at all. The wavelengths are
totally incompatible. Low-e coatings block the near-infrared radiation at
wavelengths of 700 to 2400 nanometers. Even at the ultraviolet end, the
wavelengths are around 100 to 400 nanometers. The 3G and 4G networks that
cell phones use are way off from this. Typically, cell phone wavelengths
(at 0.8 to 2.4 Ghz, the RF portion of the spectrum) are about one foot long
(or around 300 million nanometers) - not even in the same ball park.
Larry O. Degelman, PE
An ex boss lived in a Passivhaus and he couldn't get signal in the middle
of London.
A triple glazed unit can be quite thick. There were also multiple layers of
foil faced insulation in the walls. The Passivhaus institut may have done
some research on this.
Sent from my Android device. Please excuse typos, etc.
If low-e coating film is a conductor (even poor) it will shield
electro-magnetic waves. The better conductor is the better shield. Some
type of coating uses metal-oxide, which could be conducting.
Pavel Dybskiy
Larry,
I'm not ready to dismiss this effect totally. When I look at a plot of Low-E
transmissivity, it's shown to block anything from 800 nanometers on up, although the plot
stops at 2400 (see
http://www.leyboldoptics.com/cms/upload/downloads/S_Low_E_Coating_Apollon.pdf page 2).
Out of curiosity, I did a Google Search for "Low-E windows block cell phone signals" and
found this question raised in various web pages. Expanding on what I had said previously,
I do know of a building in Beijing (China Academy of Building Research) that did a facade
retrofit a few years back, after which the staff reported they could no longer get cell
phone signals. I think I'll send my colleagues an e-mail to ask for more details.
Joe Huang
Dear all,
My colleague, expert in low-e coating, told me that silver-based low-e coatings (most of the soft low-e coatings use Silver) will reflect most of the radio frequency waves. Indeed, almost all of the radio power is reflected within the first few atoms of the metal material.
Best regards!
Abdelaziz (Aziz) Laouadi, Ph.D.
Joe,
that would be great!
Leen