Architectural designs are at a turning point, when the designers concept focused primarily to energy sustainable buildings. Certifications like LEED provoked designers to get one.

Architectural Glass plays a prime role in achieving the building an energy efficient one. With the continuous innovation,

Vision

architectural glass companies come up with advanced solutions to cut down the energy requirement level inside the building.

The performance of glass is determined by it’s ability to control the electro magnetic (EM) spectrum and measured across the electromagnetic wave frequency in Nanometers ( (nm) one billionth of a meter (10^-9m))

Green Buildings & Architectural Glass

©Gulf Glass Industries Co. Ltd. June 2008

Visible Light : Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths which the human eye can see. We perceive this radiation as colors ranging from red (longer wavelengths; ~ 700 nanometers) to violet (shorter wavelengths; ~400 nanometers.)

Architectural glass achieve the ability to control the electro magnetic spectrum by depositing wide range of metals or oxides on the surface of the glass. These types of coatings widely known as Low E (Low Emissivity )coatings. Low E are available in different formats based on the performance of glass. The selection of the right Low E is required to get the optimum result of the energy saving in a building.

Please see the comparative chart below. If you use HP Low E you can cut down the Heat gain by 60%.

Glass Type LT% U Value SC RHG6mm Clear/16mmAS/6mm Clear 79 2.74 0.82 540

6mm LowE/16mmAS/6mmClear 73 1.69 0.62 464

6mm HP Low E/16mmAS/6mmClear 62 1.3 0.32 209

HP – High Performance SC - Shading CoefficientU Value in W/m²K (Summer) LT - Light Transmission

RHG (Relative Heat Gain) in W/m²K

While selecting glass, allow adequate light transmission (30% to 40% will be ideal for middle east) to the building, this in turn cuts down the amount of artificial light used inside the building, which results in energy saving . By cutting down the heat gain , you reduce the Air Conditioning Load in the building, result is energy saving.

KEY WORDGlasses which“ appear “ to look alike do not necessarily provide the same performance ! 

GGI can assist you in identifying the right glass for your projects

GGI stand at Abu Dhabi Building Futures Gulf Exhibition by BATIMAT (20 -23 April 2008).

Gulf Glass Industries Co.Ltd, accepts no liability howsoever arising from errors or omissions' in this publication.