Glass is becoming a sustainability driven industry’s number one sustainable deisgn tool. Not only are new glass styles hardy and strong, they are offering added extras that aid in insulation putting more money into the pockets of industry members.
With the release of the Viridian SmartGlass range, this new insulation alternative is making some serious waves on an industry level. Coated with what is known as “Low E” active insulation technology, which is a microscopically thin coating that goes into the glass in its final stages of creation, a highly durable, insulating protective glass is created. The coating applied to the glass makes its insulating power 39% greater than standard glass.
Statistics from the company indicate that through ordinary household glass, 87% of solar heat is gained in summer and 49% lost in winter. These are huge numbers when considering the importance of glass to modern design.
The company is one of the many industry members taking up this practice. Wasco E-Glass skylights use similar techniques in creating their range, and offer hurricane proof glass as an added incentive. With a recent spate of extreme weather measures globally, this kind of insurance is proving somewhat necessary to ensure consumers needs are being fulfilled in the strongest capacity, in turn firmly positioning companies who undertake these ventures as strong key industry players.
Design trends at the moment are focussed on “open plan” and “natural light”, both as style movements, as well as a reflection of the societal sustainability movement. Glass is becoming increasingly more important in terms of style and design, as marketing manager Lachlan Austin explains. It not only is able to insulate a building, but allows for light and heat to naturally penetrate said structure.
Mr. Austin said the company goal behind the new glass range was to make this type of highly efficient and insulating glass more accessible for the societal and industry members. This style of Low E glass is already having a huge industry impact, with companies saving thousands on single jobs by making the change.
In a recent designbuildsource article “glass to meet stricter relations”, it was found that in a Queensland building case study, a saving of $40,000 could be achieved by swapping to the higher insulated glass.
This case study should really not be surprising when considering that further statistics show that heating and cooling of buildings takes up a total of 38% of all household energy usages. Not only is this not sustainably effective, it is costing households increasingly extensive amounts of money, which will only increase with the implementation of any sort of government taxing scheme.
As leaders in the glass industry, it only natural that the company would be moving forward in this innovative and efficient way constructing and promoting SmartGlass. It is important for the industry at large to understand the importance of creating a means of sustainable living. This will not only to enable a cleaner, more environmentally friendly environment, but will make it possible for them to be able to compete with more advanced industry members.
