Heat Absorbing Glass - A Cooler Climate Indoors

For hotter regions where solar heat gain is a real problem that drives up cooling costs, having heat absorbing glass on your windows can be of tremendous help.

Known also as tinted glass, these heat absorbing windows are obviously not recommended for colder climates where the beneficial effects of solar heating would be prevented.

Glass that absorbs warmth can be responsible for a major improvement in interior comfort during long hot summers. And although some heat from the sun will still pass through these windows because of inevitable processes called conduction and reradiating, homeowners can substantially reduce their cooling payments.

Heat Absorbed By Tints

The amount of visible light that makes it through the glass tints in these heat absorbing windows can vary between around 14% to 85% depending on not only the color of the tint but the thickness of the glass as well.

But remember that some sunlight will also be blocked out. So the VT (Visible Transmittance) info on the label will tell you how much light is allowed to penetrate. A number between 0 and 1, the higher this number is means more light gets through.

Check for glass label information like the SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient) before purchasing the replacement heat absorbing window or windows. This is a number somewhere between 0 and 1; with the lower the number indicating the better control over the heating effects from the sun.

Newly developed spectrally selective coatings on windowpane glass can work with temperature absorbing glass tints to create special custom windows for a given climate. They can cut out anything from between 40% to 70% of the heat transmitted through clear glass of the same thickness whilst still letting all the high levels of visible light to pass through the window.

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Author Notes:

Anthony Lee contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.replacement-windows-n-shutters.com. Find everything you need to know about replacement windows, shutters, tinting, basement, fiberglass windows and more.