LEED v5 & Smart Glass: Decarbonization, Health and Conservation

Decarbonizing the Construction Industry

Rather than an architectural trend, the green building movement is a necessary reaction to environmental damage.

Research from the International Energy Agency shows that buildings consume 30% of global energy and produce 26% of energy-related emissions.

This alarming data stands as a critical warning of the structural problems that currently undermine our global climate targets.

Carbon Emissions and Energy Inefficiency

The most urgent issue is the carbon cost of our structures. This is divided into two categories:

• Embodied Carbon: This refers to the emissions created during the manufacturing, transportation and construction of building materials like steel, concrete and glass.
• Operational Carbon: The energy used to heat, cool, and light buildings. Most older structures are leaky, meaning they lose heat during winter and lose chilled air during summer, forcing HVAC systems to work harder.

Resource Depletion and Waste

Traditional construction is a linear process. We extract raw materials, use them once, and then eventually demolish the building, sending the resulting debris to a landfill.

• Construction and demolition waste account for more than one-third of all waste generated, just in the EU. 
• The industry is a massive consumer of fresh water and raw virgin materials. As a result, we are removing the earth’s natural resources faster than they can be recovered. This destroys ecosystems and impacts wildlife. 

Green buildings seek to solve this by pivoting to a circular economy, emphasising recycled materials and reused buildings, designed to be disassembled rather than destroyed.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

• We spend approximately 90% of our lives indoors. Many conventional buildings suffer from Sick Building Syndrome, caused by poor ventilation and materials that off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in paints, carpets, and adhesives. 
• Poor indoor air quality is linked to asthma, allergies, and declines in cognitive function.

By focusing on non-toxic materials and advanced filtration, green buildings directly improve the physical and mental health of occupants, leading to higher productivity and lower healthcare costs.

LEED v5: The New Standard for Building Decarbonization

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program, entitled ‘Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’ aims to solve these issues. LEED v5 was introduced in April 2025, which promotes decarbonization, health and ecosystem conservation.

For property developers, architects, and facade engineers, the challenge is clear.

How do we create buildings that are healthy and productive, while ensuring they are thermally efficient and carbon-neutral? 

The answer increasingly points to dynamic, functional materials including smart glass, which is composed of smart film and smart coatings.

The Palette of Smart Glass Technologies

Before diving into the LEED credits, it is essential to understand the toolkit of dynamic glazing technologies available today.

Electrochromic Glass:

This technology utilizes a low voltage DC charge to tint ceramic coatings on the glass surface within minutes. This allows it to provide exceptional solar heat gain control and glare reduction without blocking the scenery. Furthermore, since energy is only consumed during the transition between opacity levels, it is considered an ultra-efficient solution for modern buildings.

PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) Glass:

This smart glass switches instantly (in less than a second) from translucent to transparent when an alternating (AC) electrical current is applied. It is primarily used for on-demand privacy and internal partitioning. When enhanced with dyes, PDLC can also reduce heat gain and glare from sunlight.

SPD (Suspended Particle Device) Glass:

Particles suspended in a film align under an AC voltage to tint the glass. This technology allows for rapid switching, precise tuning of light levels, high color rendering and low haze.

Electrophoretic Glass:

Electrophoretic smart glass (‘electronic ink’ or ‘e-ink’) tints rapidly between transparent and opaque using minimal power consumption, and offers on-demand light control for buildings and transportation. Crucially, this technology consumes current only when switching state,  making it ideal for embedded Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.

Thermochromic Glass:

This technology transitions based on heat, autonomously tinting or blocking infrared light to manage building temperatures. It provides effective solar mitigation and energy savings with a completely wireless, maintenance-free installation.

Thermotropic Glass:

A passive technology that changes its light-scattering ability with increasing temperature, transitioning between clear and translucent, where it reflects about 30% of solar energy. Useful as overheating protection for solar collectors and photovoltaic panels.

Photochromic Glass:

A passive solution that darkens in response to UV intensity. It provides wireless, automated glare control, particularly effective for residential or commercial applications.

Transparent Photovoltaic Glass:

A specialized laminate that generates electricity from the solar spectrum while also remaining transparent. It allows the building facade to serve as an on-site renewable energy generator.

Bird-Safe Glass:

A specialised solution that enhances visibility to wildlife while remaining unnoticeable to humans, thus reducing bird-window collisions and protecting biodiversity. Often implemented as a retrofit self-adhesive plastic film.

Translucent Concrete:

By embedding light-conducting fibers into traditional concrete, translucent concrete allows natural light to permeate walls. This eliminates opaque barriers, especially when paired with smart glass, which can make the wall dynamic, resulting in a daylighting system that optimizes for energy efficiency.

Let’s now look at how these technologies can drive compliance within the credit categories of LEED v5.

Decarbonization: Energy & Atmosphere (EA)

LEED v5 places an emphasis on operational decarbonization, with 50% of the total points focused on this area. To achieve this, various smart glass technologies can be used as high-performance tools to reduce HVAC loads by blocking, filtering or scattering sunlight.

Energy Efficiency

Traditional glass does not adapt to changes in the environment. Various smart glass technologies allow the building envelope to actively manage sunlight. For example, by auto-tinting during peak hours, smart glass can reduce a building’s heating and cooling demand.

LEED v5 prerequisites and credits where smart glass can make a positive impact include the following:

• Category: Energy & Atmosphere
  • Prerequisites: 
    • Operational Carbon Projection and Decarbonization Plan
    • Minimum Energy Efficiency 
  • Credits: 
    • Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, PDLC, thermochromic, photochromic, thermotropic, translucent concrete.

Renewable Energy

Transparent photovoltaic smart glass allows the facade to act as a vertical power plant. Unlike opaque solar panels, transparent photovoltaic panels can be used in windows, skylights, curtain walls and on building facades, maximising daylight, reducing artificial lighting costs and generating clean energy.

• Category: Energy & Atmosphere
  • Credits: 
    • Renewable Energy
• Technologies: Transparent (and semi-transparent) photovoltaic glass.

Human Health: Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)

A core pillar of LEED v5 is the quality of the occupant experience, accounting for 25% of the points. This is where smart glass truly outshines traditional blinds or shades.

Daylight and Quality Views

Window blinds, whether manual or electromechanical, block the view entirely when closed, whereas smart glass can maintain a view of the outdoors at all times, while also limiting heat gain and glare. Studies indicate significant gains in productivity and well-being when occupants have access to high-quality daylight and external views.

• Category: Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Credits: 
    • Occupant Experience
    • Resilient Spaces
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, PDLC, thermochromic, photochromic, thermotropic.

Thermal Comfort

Smart glass can adapt to exterior temperatures, preventing the greenhouse effect near the building perimeter. This ensures that occupants sitting near windows remain comfortable without the HVAC system overcompensating. This maintains consistent operative temperatures across the floor plate and reduces the impact of radiant heat from the glass surface.

• Category: Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Credits: 
    • Occupant Experience
    • Resilient Spaces
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, PDLC, thermochromic, photochromic, thermotropic, translucent concrete.

Acoustic Performance

Many smart glass laminates, especially PDLC and SPD technologies, utilize thick PVB interlayers that provide superior sound dampening compared to standard monolithic glass, while also reducing heat gain and visible glare.

• Category:  Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Credits: 
    • Occupant Experience
    • Resilient Spaces
• Technologies: Any laminated and / or insulated smart glass technologies (i.e. not self-adhesive retrofit smart film).

Protecting Ecology with Light Pollution & Bird Safety

LEED v5 enforces ecological conservation, focusing on how a building interacts with its local ecosystem.

Light Pollution Reduction

At night, internal building lights can confuse migrating birds and make the city sky too bright. Electrically-controlled smart glass can be programmed via building management systems to tint after hours and minimize the risk of damage to ecosystems.

• Category: Sustainable Sites
  • Credits: 
    • Light Pollution Reduction
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, tinted PDLC.

Bird Collision Deterrence

Manufacturers currently offer glazing products that integrate fritted patterns or UV coatings. This technology improves visibility to birds, while maintaining exterior views for humans.

• Category: Sustainable Sites
  • Credits: 
    • Biodiverse Habitat
• Technologies: Bird-safe glass and film

Space Efficiency and Material Transparency

Flexible Interior Design

Smart glass is a game-changer for interior design. By allowing glass walls to turn translucent or opaque at the flip of a switch, designers can create “multi-mode” spaces. A single room can serve as a private office or a sun-lit open collaboration space. This can reduce the need for multiple rooms or material-heavy permanent partitions.

• Category:  Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Credits: 
    • Occupant Experience
    • Resilient Spaces
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, PDLC, thermochromic, photochromic, thermotropic, translucent concrete.

Material Transparency

LEED v5 places a heavy emphasis on the full carbon lifecycle and material transparency. Many smart glass products now come with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs), helping projects earn LEED v5 credits.

• Category: Materials and Resources
  • Prerequisites: 
    • Quantify and Assess Embodied Carbon
  • Credits:
    •  Reduce Embodied Carbon
• Technologies: electrochromic, electrophoretic, SPD, PDLC, thermochromic, photochromic, thermotropic.

Conclusion: Achieving LEED v5 with Smart Glass

To achieve the decarbonization, human-centric and ecological goals of LEED v5, the construction industry must move beyond static materials towards smart glass, smart films, and smart coatings.

By integrating these active technologies, developers can bridge the gap between structural integrity and the rigorous environmental performance required for LEED v5 certification.