Solar Glass Windows: A Solution for Overheating

We’re increasingly encountering issues with our homes overheating during the summer months. So it’s important to understand the hotspots in your property and make sure your project considers how to manage the situation. Solar glass, that reduces the incoming solar heat in your home, can be a great way of doing this. For more details on how you can improve the efficiency of your home, read our airtightness and insulation blogs.

The Basics of Solar Glass

Solar glass works by blocking out both heat and light, so options are labelled by both values. There are plenty of options across the product range to suit where the window will be and how much light will be hitting it on a daily basis. Put simply, a solar reduction product labelled ‘70/40′ is designed to let through 70% of light and 40% of heat. Although, we recommend you read more about glass data to determine which combination of features is most helpful to your home.

The options can be simplified into three main areas:

• 70/40 is the standard level for domestic homes. It’s an excellent blend as it doesn’t look too different from normal glass but has a noticeable impact.
• 60/35 is a step up you’ll both see and feel. If you have larger glass panes (perhaps a bifolding or a sliding door) that you know will be regularly hit by sunlight and you’re particularly worried about that extra heat, this is a worthwhile upgrade. Please do bear in mind that stronger levels of solar control will come with a stronger tinted appearance
• 50/30 is another large step up. Although, this choice is on the borderline of domestic/commercial and therefore is on the borderline of what we’d be recommending for customers’ homes

More information about glass data

Potential Drawbacks of Solar Glass

As great as solar glass can be in the summer, the winter can be a different story. In the winter, double glazed windows naturally help to heat your home thanks to their solar gain factor. Over-specifying on solar reduction will result in you requiring your heating more in the winter.

In addition to this, too high of a solar reduction specification can result in a level of tint on the glass. Strong solar reflective options are ultimately aimed towards massive glass-faced skyscrapers and similar buildings where solar gain is simply huge.

Mostly though, an annoyance of these heavy solar blocking situations is that the glass works like a one way mirror. When it’s brighter outside than inside you’ll be able to see out, no one will be able to see in. However, at night or even on a dull day you’ll likely have some lights on, and that means you’ve reversed the direction of privacy. You won’t be able to see out, and you’ll be lit up like a Christmas tree for everyone outside to observe.

However, these downsides can be minimized by choosing the specification that best suits your needs and the level of light hitting the window. If you are unsure on what level of solar glass would be most suitable for your home, please contact us.

Replace the glass or the whole window?

Whilst replacing the glass and leaving in the original window frame may seem the easier option, in the long run this is often not the case. Our solar glass is sealed and fitted in the factory. By doing this, we know we’re offering a system where every part is designed to work together. This guarantees a high performing, airtight unit.

Old frames will have often bent out of shape over time, seals may have shrunk or hinges could be out of line. No matter the level of solar glass you put in, it will not be able to perform its best in such a frame. Therefore, it is often better to replace the unit as a whole.

What to expect when replacing windows
Airtightness, keeping the heat in or out is about more than just the glass

Temporary Solar Solutions

In the meantime, there are some DIY solutions that can be used to reduce the solar heat entering your home. Sticking solar reflective film onto the glass is a fairly quick solution and depending on the skill level of the person sticking it on, can look relatively neat. Although, it is important to note that these films can block a large amount of light from coming into the house. So whilst this works temporarily, it isn’t recommended as a long term solution.

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