solar control glass
Stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
Maximising natural daylight makes for a healthy home and productive working environment, but too much of a good thing and suddenly we’re faced with overheating, excessive glare and UV fading of our interiors.
Today’s technically advanced solar control glass products are here to help. We provide a range of glass options specifically designed to control the amount of heat and light that passes through the window. These solar control glass options are perfect for sealed units in windows on south and south west facing elevations.
In the home, there is no better option than our sealed units created using SGG PLANITHERM 4S glass – part of the pioneering Saint-Gobain Glass range of PLANITHERM low-E glass products.
For commercial buildings, our solar control sealed units can be manufactured using either SGG COOL-LITE SKN 176 II or SGG COOL-LITE SKN 183. These high performance glasses offer a selectivity of up to 1.83 to carefully balance heat and light in curtain walling, shop fronts and high-rise buildings.
How solar control glass works
A solar control glass is a glass with a special coating designed to reduce the amount of heat entering a building. It reflects and absorbs heat as well as filtering light for reduced glare. Using a solar control glass can reduce the need for air-conditioning and blinds. There are many types of solar control glass offering different aesthetic options; tinted, reflective and neutral.
The glass used in our conservatory roof glazing has a versatile solar control coating. It helps to prevent the build up of heat during hot summer months.
The sun’s radiation is made up of heat, light and UV (ultra-violet) light. The coatings developed for solar control glass, which are used on PLANITHERM 4S, SGG COOL-LITE SKN 176 II and SGG COOL-LITE SKN 183, are configured to manage solar radiation by selecting how much heat and light passes through the glass.
Too little control and we see a greenhouse effect overheating – too much and the room misses out on the benefits of solar gain or natural daylight
Benefits of solar control SGG Planitherm glass
The solar control coating reflects the heat from the sun back to the outside of the conservatory keeping the interior cooler in the summer months, and significantly reduces the amount of heat that is able to pass into your conservatory providing you with a more comfortable and useable living space.
The coating is incorporated into our Natura and Aqua roof glass solutions for maximum solar control and is combined with SGG PLANITHERM glass for maximum thermal insulation. The coloured tints on our roof glass also provide solar control as they absorb more heat and radiate it back to the outside. Combining a tint with a coating to reflect even more heat will increase the overall cooling performance even further. View our range of tints below.
Benefits of solar control SGG COOL-LITE SKN 176 II and 183
The glazing performance of a building can have a significant impact on its aesthetics and energy consumption. Solar control, light transmission, acoustics, aesthetics and thermal insulation are all key factors in specifying the correct glazing. The SGG COOL-LITE® range can significantly contribute to providing a building where comfort is a primary design feature. The product range is designed to be used in both residential and commercial applications.
With a key focus on comfort, high light transmittance maximises natural daylighting, and reduces the need for artificial lighting. The low solar heat gain properties helps to reduce internal overheating, and subsequently reduce associated air-conditioning requirements.