Glass plays a vital role in protecting interiors from external elements like rain, wind, and extreme temperatures while ensuring transparency and maintaining structural integrity. To achieve these objectives, glass must control several factors, including:
This article focuses on the first two elements—Solar Radiation and Temperature—as moisture and structural load management often involve framing and gasketing systems. Sound control will be addressed in a future article.
Understanding Glass and Solar Energy
Visible light is just a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from 380 to 780 nanometers (nm) or 400 to 790 terahertz (THz). Glass also interacts with other wavelengths of solar energy, such as:
To measure how effectively glass performs, three primary metrics are used:
Optimizing Glass Performance
The goal for most glass applications is to maximize VLT for optimal natural light while minimizing U-value and SHGC to control heat transfer and solar gain. Achieving this balance often involves:
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Future Insights
Glass technology continues to evolve, offering advanced solutions for energy efficiency and environmental control. Stay tuned for upcoming articles that will dive deeper into moisture management, structural loads, and sound control.
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