Okay, so today I wanted to try something new and check out this EC glass, you know, for the girls’ tennis team. I’ve heard some stuff about it, figured why not see what the hype is about.
First off, I started by just looking up what EC glass even is. Turns out it stands for electrochromic glass, which sounds pretty fancy. Basically, it’s this glass that can change how much light and heat it lets through when you apply a little bit of electricity to it.
Then I went down to the courts where the girls’ tennis team usually practices. I wanted to get a feel for the environment, see how much sunlight they deal with, you know, the whole vibe. The courts are pretty exposed, and I could definitely see how, on a bright day, the glare could be a real pain. I was chatting with the coach. We talked about how on those super sunny days, it’s tough for the players to see the ball properly, and how the heat can really drain them.
After that, I got in touch with a couple of companies that make this EC glass. I got some samples and just started playing around with them. I put them in different levels of sunlight. It was pretty cool to see how the glass tint changed when I hooked it up to a small power source. You could really see the potential for cutting down glare and keeping things cooler.
Next, I spent a day with the team during their practice. I brought along a few pieces of the EC glass.
- First I just held up a sheet of the glass during their practice to see if they noticed any difference in glare when looking through it.
- Then I did a little test where I had them try to track the ball with and without the glass in front of their eyes.
The girls were pretty curious, and a bunch of them tried it out. Most of them said it made a noticeable difference in how easily they could see the ball, especially when the sun was right overhead.
The final step was sketching out some ideas for how this EC glass could actually be installed at the courts. I thought about maybe having it on the sides of the courts, or even creating some kind of retractable awning system that could be adjusted depending on the sun’s position.
My Thoughts After All This:
This EC glass seems like it could be a real game-changer for the girls’ tennis team. I mean, being able to control the glare and heat would make practices and matches way more comfortable and probably improve their performance too. It definitely feels like something worth exploring further. I’m thinking of putting together a more detailed proposal for the school, maybe with some cost estimates and different design options. It was a productive day, and I’m excited to see where this goes!
