Tean Chee Ko

From: Tean Chee Ko

Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2017 1:31 PM
To: Henry Wu
Subject: Glass Values

There are three major considerations when choosing energy saving glazing:

KEY POINTS

Light Transmittance (TL)

The light transmittance is the ratio of the transmitted light flux to the incident light
flux.
Usually, the higher TL, the more natural day light.

Indicates the percentage of the visible portion of the solar spectrum that is
transmitted through a given glass product.
Transmission of visible light determines the effectiveness of a type of glass in
providing daylight and a clear view through the window.

For example, tinted glass has a lower visible transmittance than clear glass.

U-Value
U-value indicates the rate of heat flow due to conduction, convection, and radiation
through a window as a result of a temperature difference between the inside and
outside.

Heat transmittance through a surface by conduction, convection and radiation is

expressed by its U-value. Usually, the lower the U- value, the lower the heat loss.

The U-value of a window is a measurement of the rate of heat loss indicating how well
your windows are keeping valuable heat in. It is expressed as Watts per square metre
Kelvin W/m2 K. The lower the U-value the better the thermal performance of the
glass. So called 'Low-emissivity' or 'Low E' glass offers improved thermal insulation
denoted by very low U-values.

U-values measure how effective a material is as an insulator. The lower the U-value,
the less heat is lost and the more insulation the material provides.
You can see that more heat is lost through windows than the same area of wall. Low-
e glass can reduces U-values by as much as 80%.

Shading Coefficient (SC)

The solar factor of glazing is the percentage of the total solar radiant heat energy
entering the room.
Usually, the lower the SC, the less solar radiant heat energy enters the room through
the glass.

It is the ratio of solar gain (due to direct sunlight) passing through a glass unit to the
solar energy which passes through 3mm Clear Float Glass.
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It is an indicator of how well the glass is thermally insulating (shading) the interior
when there is direct sunlight on the panel or window.
The shading coefficient depends on the color of glass and degree of reflectivity

MORE DETAILED EXPLANATIONS

VISIBLE TRANSMITTANCE (TVIS-GLASS)

Tvis-glass indicates the percentage of the visible portion of the solar spectrum that is transmitted through a
given glass product.

Sunlight is an electromagnetic form of energy exchange between the sun and the earth. It is
composed of a range of electromagnetic wavelengths, generally categorized as ultraviolet (UV),
visible, and infrared (IR) referred to collectively as the solar spectrum.

The short, UV wavelengths are largely invisible to the naked eye, but are responsible for fabric
fading and skin damage. Visible light is made up of those wavelengths detectable by the human
eye. This light contains about 47% of the energy in sunlight. Longer IR wavelengths are also
invisible and contain about 46% of the energy in sunlight.

For a given glazing system, the term "Coolness index (Ke)," also called Efficacy Factor, is the
ratio of the Tvis-glass to the shading coefficient (SC).

Transmittance refers to the percentage of radiation that can pass through glazing.
Transmittance can be defined for different types of light or energy, e.g., visible transmittance,
UV transmittance, or total solar energy transmittance.

Transmission of visible light determines the effectiveness of a type of glass in providing daylight
and a clear view through the window. For example, tinted glass has a lower visible
transmittance than clear glass. While the human eye is sensitive to light at wavelengths from
about 0.4 to 0.7 microns, its peak sensitivity is at 0.55, with lower sensitivity at the red and blue
ends of the spectrum. This is referred to as the photopic sensitivity of the eye.

More than half of the sun's energy is invisible to the eye. Most reaches us as near-infrared with
a few percent in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. Thus, total solar energy transmittance describes
how the glazing responds to a much broader part of the spectrum and is more useful in
characterizing the quantity of total solar energy transmitted by the glazing.

With the recent advances in glazing technology, manufacturers can control how glazing
materials behave in these different areas of the spectrum. The basic properties of the substrate
material (glass or plastic) can be altered, and coatings can be added to the surfaces of the
substrates. For example, a window optimized for daylighting and for reducing overall solar heat
gains should transmit an adequate amount of light in the visible portion of the spectrum, while
excluding unnecessary heat gain from the near-infrared part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.

U-VALUE
U-value indicates the rate of heat flow due to conduction, convection, and radiation through a window
as a result of a temperature difference between the inside and outside.
The higher the U-factor the more heat is transferred (lost) through the window in winter.
• The units of U-value are: Btus per hour per square foot per °F (Btu/hr · ft² · °F)
• U-factors usually range from a high of 1.3 (for a typical aluminum frame single glazed window)
to a low of around 0.2 (for a multi-paned, high-performance window with low-emissivity coatings
and insulated frames).
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 • A window with a U-factor of 0.6 will lose twice as much heat under the same conditions as one
with a U-factor of 0.3.
• Total (or net) window U-factors can be considerably higher than the center-of-glass U-factors.
• The U-value of a window is a measurement of the rate of heat loss indicating how well your
windows are keeping valuable heat in. It is expressed as Watts per square metre Kelvin W/m2 K.
The lower the U-value the better the thermal performance of the glass.

SOLAR HEAT GAIN COEFFICIENT (SHGC) OR SHADING COEFFICIENT

SHGC indicates how much of the sun's energy striking the window is transmitted through the window
as heat. As the SHGC increases, the solar gain potential through a given window increases.

The SHGC is a ratio between 0 and 1. SHGC = 0 means none of the incident solar gain is
transmitted through the window as heat and SHGC = 1 means all of the incident solar energy is
transmitted through the window as heat.

A window with a SHGC of 0.6 will admit twice as much solar heat gain as one with a SHGC of
0.3.

Typically, windows with low SHGC values are desirable in buildings with high air-conditioning
loads while windows with high SHGC values are desirable in buildings where passive solar
heating is needed.

The term "SHGC" is relatively new and is intended to replace the term "shading coefficient
(SC)." While the terms are related, the shading coefficient of glass is defined as the ratio of the
solar heat gain through a given glazing as compared to that of clear, 1/8 inch single pane glass.

TINTS (COLOR) AND COATINGS

The properties of a given glass can be altered by tinting or by applying various coatings or films to the
glass.

Glass tints are generally the result of colorants added to the glass during production. Some tints
are also produced by adhering colored films to the glass following production.

Tints are usually selected for aesthetic purposes. Some tints also help reduce solar gains.

Coatings, usually in the form of metal oxides, can also be applied to glass during production.
Some of these coatings, called "low-emissivity" or "low-e," help reduce radiant heat transfer
between panes of glass by blocking some or all of the IR wavelengths. These coatings can
dramatically lower the window U-factor.

Care should be taken in specifying tints and coatings, as their application can dramatically
impact window heat loss and heat gain. Mis-specification can result in the exact opposite of the
desired performance.

From a performance perspective, specifying window U-factor, SHGC and Glass Visible
Transmittance (Tvis-glass) means there is no need to specify tints and coatings.

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What is the difference between SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient) and SC (Shading Coefficient)?

The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) is the percent of solar energy incident on the glass that is
transferred indoors both directly and indirectly through the glass. The direct gain portion is the
solar energy transmittance, while the indirect is the fraction of solar energy incident on the glass
that is absorbed and re-radiated or transmitted through convection indoors. For example, 1/8" (3.1
mm) uncoated clear glass has an SHGC of approximately 0.86, of which 0.84 is direct gain (solar
transmittance) and 0.02 is indirect gain (convection / re-radiation).

The Shading Coefficient (SC) is a measure of the heat gain through glass from solar radiation.
Specifically, the Shading Coefficient is the ratio between the solar heat gain for a particular type of
glass and that of double-strength clear glass. A lower Shading Coefficient indicates lower solar
heat gain. For reference, 1/8" (3.1 mm) clear glass has a value of 1.00 (SC is an older term being
replaced by the SHGC).
In either case, a lower number indicates improved solar control over the 1/8" clear glass baseline.
With a long air-conditioning season, it is most important to reduce solar gain and therefore reduce
air-conditioning loads.

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Resource:

https://www.wbdg.org/resources/windows-and-glazing
https://www.energlaze.ie/u-values-explained/
https://www.guardianglass.com/commercial/ToolsandResources/Resources/FAQ/SHGC-versus-SC/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shading_coefficient
http://www.commercialwindows.org/transmittance.php