Solar Control Glass

Modern architecture shows a clear trend towards transparent, light-filled buildings with great expanses of windows and façades. Such glass-oreientated designs normally require measures to avoid excessive overheating by solar energy.

Glass with solar control coatings can keep a building cooler in summer months and warmer in the winter. Solar control glasses are glasses with a special coating designed to reduce the amount of heat and light entering a building. These glasses can also control light ingress; reducing glare. Using a solar control glass can reduce the need for air-conditioning and blinds, thereby reducing a building's energy consumption and operating costs.

A variety of solar control glasses are available, and are manufactured by tinting (bronze, blue, green, grey) or applying a metallic coating; either online at the time of manufacture or offline post-manufacturing.

Solar control glasses can be incorporated into insulating glazing units with combinations of self-cleaning, Low E and decorative glass solutions. Combining solar control glass with Low E glass in one double glazing unit can offer optimum temperature comfort all year round.

‘G’ Value

The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) measures a window’s ability to transmit solar energy into a room. It is expresssed in value from 0 to 1, and is commonly referred to as the g-value, or solar factor. The lower a window’s g-value, the greater its ability to insulate against solar heat build up.

Advantages

• Tint - uses its inherent colour to absorb heat
• Coating - reflects heat back to the outside
• Tint and Coating - absorbs and reflects heat for maximum comfort