Low-e glass
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about low-e glass
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Sungate ThermL™ Glass
Sungate ThermL™ Glass
Sungate ThermL™ glass is a low-e coating engineered for use on the interior surface of a typical one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU) that dramatically improves U-values when paired with a Solarban® solar control low-e glass by Vitro on the second surface.
Sungate ThermL™ glass is neutral, colorless and provides low reflectivity, so it looks just like uncoated clear glass while offering enhanced durability and insulation. Sungate ThermL™ glass is engineered to allow for a high rate of visible light transmittance (VLT) and to retain the indoor heated air by slowing down heat transfer through the IGU to reduce winter heating costs.
Tom Harris
Sungate ThermL™ coatings are as durable and resistant to mechan... More
Project • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Offices
345 4th Street
As part of San Francisco’s transformative neighborhood plan to build up Central South of Market (SoMa) with new residential units, retail and office space, developer 4th & Harrison LLC set out to construct a seven story mid-rise office building with groundfloor retail.
One of the Golden Gate City’s only remaining neighborhoods with room to build, SoMa is currently transitioning from an industrial area to a sustainable, transitoriented neighborhood, with new CentralSubway stations connecting SoMa with Union Square and Chinatown.
Looking to distinguish its new building, 4th & Harrison tasked Stanton Architecture with designing a bold, contemporary façade toappeal to the neighborhood’s “Laptops... More
Project • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Offices
Epic I
Serving as an important bridge between the low-rise, pedestrian-scaled Deep Ellum historic neighborhood and Dallas’ downtown high-rises, the new Epic I office building is creatively stacked in two to five-story blocks to mediate the two urban scales.
To achieve a number of important objectives—including neutrality, energy performance and blending into the urban fabric—Perkins&Will, Dallas, selected Solarban® 90 Starphire® glass from Vitro Architectural Glass for the unitized curtainwall on all four elevations of the main tower and a smaller ground level retail section contains Solarban® 72 glass from Vitro Architectural Glass.
Tom Kessler Photograhy
“The neutral color complements the materials... More
Project • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Universities
UCI Middle Earth Housing Expansion
Striking the ideal balance between maximized daylighting and controlled heat gain, Mithun architects selected Solarban® R67 (formerly Solarban® 67) Solexia® glass by Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) for the LEED® Platinum-certified Middle Earth Expansion for the University of California, Irvine’s (UCI) living-learning community.
The new 6-story, 215,000 sq. ft., mixed-use facility promotes a “see and be seen” vibe with 30% of its façade clad with glass. Enhancing the transparency, operable windows deliver natural ventilation to 80% of the spaces in the building.
Tom Kessler Photography
“We worked with our mechanical engineer to find the right product that allowed a ba... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Sungate® 400 Glass
Sungate® 400 Glass
Sungate® 400 glass is a highly transparent, passive low-e glass designed specifically for use in heating-dominated climates.
Manufactured with a magnetron sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) “soft coat,” Sungate® 400 glass helps buildings harvest energy from the sun and retain solar and furnace heat to reduce winter heating costs. Sungate® 400 delivers a winter U-value that is 9 percent higher than passive low‑e glasses manufactured with a “hard” pyrolytic coating.
Sungate® 400 glass performs best when specified as a third-surface coating on Starphire® glass. In a one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), this configuration generates a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) that is 13 percent better than... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® R100 Glass
Solarban® R100 Glass
A Neutral-Reflective Glass that Performs
Solarban® R100 glass is a neutral-reflective low‑e glass with an excellent solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC).
Balancing Reflectivity & NeutralitySolarban® R100 glass provides significant improvements in solar performance compared to competing products in the same architectural glass category. Because Solarban® R100 glass uniquely balances reflectivity and color-neutrality, it can function as a privacy glass as well as in harmony with spandrels and other building materials.Inside the building, Solarban® R100 glass transmits a pleasant, cool blue‑gray appearance that reduces glare without creating an obtrusive reflected color for building occupants. Outside, Solarban® R100 gl... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® 70 Optiblue® Glass
Solarban® 70 Optiblue® Glass
A neutral, high-performing glass that controls glare.A Superior Solar Control PerformerSolarban® 70 Optiblue® glass (formerly Solarban® z75 glass) is a neutral, high-performing glass comprised of Solarban® 70 solar control low‑e coating on Optiblue® glass.A Neutral Steel-Blue Gray
With its steel blue-gray appearance and high visible light transmittance (VLT), Solarban® 70 Optiblue® low‑e glass excels at controlling glare while offering superior solar control properties to support sustainable design. The result is a VLT and a low solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) that meets or exceeds competing architectural glasses with a similar aesthetic.Solarban® 70 Opti... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® 70 Glass
Solarban® 70 Glass
Clarity. Consistency. Performance.
Solarban® 70 Glass (formerly Solarban® 70XL Glass) is the most commonly specified triple-silver-coated low‑e glass in the industry.
Balance Form & FunctionWith its transparent, color-neutral aesthetic and unprecedented solar control and visible light transmittance (VLT) characteristics, Solarban® 70 glass can help you strike the right balance between form and function. Due to its clarity, consistency and solar control performance, Solarban® 70 glass has become the most commonly specified triple-silver-coated glass in the industry, with more than 300 million square-feet shipped in the past 10 years.
When coupled with conventional clear glass in a one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU),... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® 90 Solar Control Low‑E Glass
Solarban® 90 Solar Control Low‑E Glass
The Latest Evolution in Solar Control
Developed with the input of architects and in the tradition of the Solarban® family of low‑e glasses, Solarban® 90 glass combines exceptional solar control performance with neutral aesthetics, enabling larger expanses without sacrificing occupant comfort.
Remarkably NeutralAs the latest evolution in solar control low-e glass, Solarban® 90 glass conveys an appearance similar to that of clear glass in both color and reflectance, whether viewed from the interior or exterior of a building. Combining new materials with advanced coating technology and refinements, Solarban® 90 glass is engineered to outperform even Solarban® 70 glass, the most preferred high-performance solar control low... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® 72 Glass
Solarban® 72 Glass
Exceptionally Clear. Superior Solar Control.
Solarban® 72 glass is a triple-silver-coated solar control low-e glass designed specifically for Vitro low-iron glass substrates, Starphire Ultra‑Clear® glass and Solarban® Acuity™ low-e low‑iron glass.
High VLT. High Performance.Solarban® 72 glass provides high visible light transmittance (VLT), exceptional clarity and superior solar control performance. The exceptionally clear aesthetic makes it the ideal choice for both interior and exterior applications, such as vision and spandrel glass.Solarban® 72 Starphire® GlassIn a standard one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), Solarban® 72 Starphire® glass boasts a VLT approximating that of Solarban® 60 Starp... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® R67 Glass
Solarban® R67 Glass
A Soft, Neutral Coating with Excellent Solar Control
Solarban® R67 glass (formerly Solarban® 67 glass) provides excellent solar control performance that transmits and reflects colors with remarkably crisp fidelity.
Crispness & ClarityEngineered with a proprietary double-silver, magnetron-sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) coating developed by Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG glass), Solarban® R67 glass accurately transmits and reflects the tone and brightness of ambient light and color. The crispness and clarity of Solarban® R67 glass is further enhanced by its low interior and exterior reflectivity.
Solarban® R67 glass delivers proven solar control performance that exceeds that which is typic... More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solexia® Glass
Solexia® Glass
Superior Spectrally Selective Performance
Offering high light transmittance, Solexia® glass is a soothing, light green tinted glass that is part of the nautically inspired collection by Vitro Glass. Trusted by architects since 1952, Solexia® glass remains an industry standard for spectrally selective performance. More
Product • By Vitro Architectural Glass • Solarban® 60 Optiblue® Glass
Solarban® 60 Optiblue® Glass
A Neutral Steel-Blue GrayWith its soothing, neutral, steel blue-gray appearance, Solarban® 60 Optiblue® (formerly Solarban®) glass brings a distinctly different aesthetic to the Solarban® family, along with minimal exterior reflectance, superb solar control and high levels of visible light transmittance (VLT). Solarban® 60 Optiblue® glass consists of Solarban® 60 solar control, low-e coating on Optiblue® tinted glass with clear glass as the inboard lite.
Developed to meet architects’ demands for a neutral glass, Solarban® 60 on Optiblue® glass controls glare while providing the daylighting and solar control needed to support sustainable design. Solarban® 60 Optiblue® glass is id... More