Choosing the right surface material

Our iconic Charing Halo™ is an industry-first and appealing feature of the FreePower experience. Depending on the countertop material you select, the charging Halo™ may be vibrant, dim, inconsistent, or not visible.

When designing in FreePower, it’s essential to understand the client’s preferences so you can select a surface material that matches their expectations. If the client wants a vibrant Charging Halo™, you’ll need to ensure the material has high translucency and is not inconsistent with features in the stone, like veins. If the client just wants it to be visible enough to understand where the charging zone is, then any material with enough translucency will do.

Once you’ve determined the client’s preference, selecting the surface material carefully is essential. Visit our material compatibility database to learn more

Both natural and engineered stones vary in their translucency and clarity.

• Translucency: Translucency refers to how much light can pass through a surface material. A material with high translucency will promote a vibrant Charging Halo™, whereas a material with low translucency may have a dim Charging Halo™ or none.
  
  Many quartz, quartzite, and marble materials have translucency, whereas many porcelain, limestone, and other dark natural stones do not. However, all engineered and natural surface materials are different, so it’s important always to test them yourself. You can [learn how to test translucency in section 4 below].

• Clarity: Clarity refers to how true to color light shining through a surface material is. Sometimes, white light turns quite yellow, causing low clarity, whereas sometimes, white light remains white, causing high clarity. In understanding the client’s preferences, if they want a vibrant Charging Halo™, a medium or high-clarity surface material will be important to pay attention to.

Depending on the type of material, veins or inconsistencies in the manufacturing process can make the light shine inconsistently. In some cases, a material is vibrant and has high translucency in one area but low to no translucency in other areas. FreePower considers inconsistent materials low in clarity.

Visit our material compatibility database to learn more

FreePower is readily compatible with translucent surface materials. For non-translucent surface materials, FreePower requires an etching on the surface. Etching options for stone will be available with FreePower in early 2025, and etching for non-stone materials, like wood, is available if the surface fabricator has the capability.

Please contact our support team to learn more.

Translucency can be easily tested by shining a light into the material you wish to use. Watch our video on testing translucency to learn more, or visit our [material compatibility database].

FreePower is compatible with materials of all thicknesses, from 4 mm to 3cm or more. To learn more, visit our Selecting Stone Thickness page.

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FreePower runs a Design with FreePower regularly so that specifiers, designers, builders, fabricators, homeowners, and anyone else interested can learn everything they need to design in FreePower. Join a webinar and learn how to spec in FreePower, place the charging zone, and get access to your countertop fabricators.

Sign up for a Design with FreePower webinar.