Transparent bird protection glazing

Bird protection glazing requires markings, but people usually find these distracting. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) have now developed glazing that, as far as possible, does not obstruct the view from the inside, but effectively protects birds approaching from hitting the outside of the glass.

Left: Bird protection glazing, seen from the inside. The marking is barely recognisable.
Right: Bird protection glazing, seen from the outside. The marking was tested as highly effective in the flight tunnel test in Hohenau (4% approaches). © Thomas Kroyer, Fraunhofer ISE

Modern glass façades and transparent noise barriers are almost imperceptible obstacles for birds. According to various estimates, up to 100 million birds die every year in Europe alone as a result of collisions with glass panes.

Many effective bird protection markings comprise opaque stripes or dots. However, these markings are often distracting for people inside the building. Researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have therefore developed a marking that is both effective against bird strikes and as invisible as possible from inside the building.

Transparent yet highly effective

The result of this development is the exhibit shown at glasstec 2024: A double insulating glass unit with transparent bird protection markings. The transparent marking is applied to the outside of the glass unit (position 1). There is a solar control layer at position 2. The pattern looks very inconspicuous to people on the inside. From the outside, however, it provides extremely effective protection against bird strikes. The glazing was tested as highly effective at the bird observatory in Hohenau, Austria. when tested in a flight tunnel, birds only headed for the marked test pane in 4% of cases. 96% opted for a glass pane without bird protection markings.

Exhibitor contact

Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE
Freiburg, Germany
www.ise.fraunhofer.de