Clear float glass is distortion free and colourless. It provides high light transmission and clarity but no performance benefits in terms of solar heat gain reduction or insulation. Float glass is the most commonly used window and door glass and also the base for most performance glasses. It will shatter easily and may produce dangerous shards of glass when broken.
Adding metal oxides to float glass during its manufacture will produce tinted glass. Tinted glass reduces sun glare and re-radiates and absorbs solar energy thus providing climate control and cost efficiency, however it doesn’t provide much in the way of insulation.
The most common tinted glass colours are blue, green, grey and bronze.
During manufacture a metallic coating is added to reflective glass to create the highly reflective effect. It offers a better solar control than tinted glass but not much insulation benefit.
Reflective glass is usually available in blue, green, bronze, neutral and clear. It can be used to provide an aesthetic appearance to a building.
Like its name suggests, toughened glass has increased strength and the process of toughening glass reduces the risk of breakage. When breakage occurs it is usually in the form of shattering rather than splintering, which produces smaller particles that are less likely to cause harm.
Most glass types can be toughened and made available in clear, tinted, reflective and Low Emissive glass.
Laminated Glass is classified as a safety glass. Two or more layers of glass are bonded together and this process inhibits breakage. Their is an interlayer between the layers of glass which can provide a choice of performance characteristics for insulation, improved security or acoustic insulation.
Most glass types can be laminated and made available in clear, tinted, reflective and Low Emissive glass.
A thin metallic coating applied to glass provides a surface which is capable of reflecting thermal radiation or inhibiting its emission.
This is known as Low E Glass. Because it reflects rather than absorbs the thermal radiation, Low E Glass improves insulation.
It is also available in a range of colours such as blue, green, grey, neutral and clear. Low E Glass is a very good choice for any climate.
As its name suggests, double glazing is two panes of glass bonded to both sides of a spacer to create a unit. Another name for double glazing is Insulated Glass Units (IGU’s).
To increase the insulating properties of double glazing, Argon gas may be used in the space between to two panes of glass.
Double Glazing is ideal for extreme climates due to the improved insulation properties of the process. The panes of glass used in double glazing can be laminated, toughened, tinted, reflective or low emission. (Low E).
