When it comes to making your home more energy efficient, one often overlooked area is the type of glass used in your windows. Upgrading to low-emissivity (low-E) glass can provide better insulation, improve solar heat gain, block UV rays, and reduce energy costs. In fact, it’s estimated that 10-50% of a home’s energy loss happens through these openings. This is where the low-E glass comes in handy.
Keep reading to understand what exactly low-E glass is and how it can help make your home more energy efficient.
What is Low-E Glass?
Low-E glass gets its name from its ability to reduce the emissivity and solar heat gain of standard glass. It does this through a microscopic metal coating that reflects infrared light. While regular glass allows heat or cold to pass through easily, Low-E glass blocks this transfer, keeping Indoor temp consistent. The result is a window with powerful insulating properties.
Benefits of Low-E Glass
1. Superior Insulation
With its advanced coating technology, low-E glass offers far better insulation than traditional glass windows. By limiting heat transfer, it can reduce energy demands placed on heating and cooling systems.
Low-E glass keeps the space warmer in the winter by retaining interior heat and cooler in the summer by blocking solar gain. This equates to greater comfort and lower utility bills all year long.
2. Solar Heat Rejection
In addition to insulation, low-E coatings significantly reduce solar heat gain and the amount of heat that penetrates through windows from sunlight. This capability can lower peak cooling loads by 10-15%.
Less heat permeating into the home means your AC system doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature. Summer energy savings from low-E glass can be substantial.
3. UV Ray Protection
Low-E coatings reflect the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays instead of allowing them to stream through window glass. Without this protection, UV exposure can cause carpets, furniture, artwork and other items to fade or degrade prematurely.
Blocking UV rays helps maintain the integrity of valuables and gives interiors a fresher, newer look over time.
4. Durability
Modern low-E glass utilises a durable “hard coat” application fused to an inner windowpane. Unlike soft-coat low-E, hard-coat glazing resists scratching, acidity, temperature swings and moisture.
Properly fabricated, it can retain its performance features over the entire lifetime of the insulated glass unit itself. Low-E glass couples energy efficiency with excellent reliability.
5. Versatility in Design
A common misconception is that low-E glass must look distinctly different from normal glass. However, quality low-E products have a transparent coating that maintains visibility while still reducing heat flow.
Low-E can also be combined with tinted or reflective glass for customised performance. It does not interfere with other glazing features like security, noise reduction, decorative etchings or self-cleaning technology.
Conclusion
With ever-rising energy prices, low-emissivity glass should be considered for any new construction or window replacement project. It delivers meaningful benefits in thermal insulation, comfort, UV protection, and sustainability. Advances in low-E technology ensure these performance gains don’t come at the expense of aesthetics, clarity or durability. For attractive windows that help shrink energy usage, low-E is the smartest choice, contact AIS Glass to learn more about the right low-E solution for your home.