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U value vinyl doublepane window11/8/2022 ![]() The visible spectrum is what’s necessary for plant growth. There have been some concerns about the effects of Low-E glass on house plants, but the quick answer is that Low-E glass is designed to block heat not light. U value vinyl doublepane window windows#Low-E windows are definitely the way to go and will soon be the standard that all builders use. No matter what type of Low-E windows you get, they will perform better than windows that have only clear glass. Soft coat windows have much better U-value than hard coat surfaces and allow less UV transmittance by almost 75% over clear glass. ![]() On the other hand, soft coat Low-E windows must be in a double-pane unit and are nearly invisible coatings which provide more visible light. Hard coat Low-E windows are relatively durable, can be handled easily, and are something most often used in single-pane applications however, hard coat surfaces have a higher solar gain than soft coat and have the possibility of developing a slight haze over time. Most companies will offer both hard and soft coat Low-E windows. Soft coat Low-E windows are the type we sell at Glass-Rite. Soft coat Low-E glass is the most efficient and highest performing of the two energy efficient window types. This is considered ‘soft-coat’ and must be enclosed in double-pane window units to protect it. This process takes place when the glass is placed in a vacuum chamber and has several thin layers of silver with antireflective properties applied to it. The second method is called Magnetron Sputtering. Hard coat Low-E glass surfaces are considered to be medium grade energy efficient windows and perform much better than plain clear glass. Pyrolytic coatings are usually tin dioxide and are also called ‘hard-coat’. Pyrolytic coatings are applied at very high temperatures at the plant when the glass is manufactured. There are a couple different methods used for coating Low-E windows. The energy from your heater comes up against the Low-E window and is reflected back toward the inside of the house so it isn’t lost. It works the same way if you are running your heater. ![]() So when the sun shines, a Low-E coated window reflects a lot of that unwanted energy back towards the sun instead of letting the heat pass through the glass. This film coating reflects radiant infrared energy, which is meant to keep the energy on the same side it originates from while still letting in visible light. For example: usually the glass is coated on the inside of the outer pane for double-pane windows. The process is done at the glass manufacturing plant where specially designed coatings are applied to one or more surfaces of an insulated glass unit. To improve insulation or thermal efficiency in a window, a thin film coating is applied to the raw glass. The net result is that we end up using our heating and cooling appliances more than we need to. ![]() This is why in some houses a room can be very hot during the day and freezing when the sun goes down. Any heat taken in through the glass during the day is being released right back out through the window at night. This means if you have clear glass in your windows, you are absorbing all of the heat energy from the sun as well as radiant heat from inside, but none of it is being put to use in creating energy efficient windows. In terms of window glass, it is by nature highly thermal emissive and clear glass absorbs a ton of energy without reflecting much. So yes, Low-E windows are energy efficient because any material that reflects, absorbs, and emits radiant energy is going to save energy. In short, Low-E means low emissivity, or more precisely, low thermal emissivity. The question we always get about Low-E windows is whether or not they’re really energy efficient windows. ![]()
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