International Journal of Applied Glass Science 1 [1] 118–129 (2010)

DOI:10.1111/j.2041-1294.2010.00004.x

Glass in Architecture
Mehran Arbab* and James J. Finley
Glass Research & Development, PPG Industries Inc., Cheswick, Pennsylvania 15024

Flat glass admits natural daylight, provides unique design options, and improves the quality of indoor life. For these
reasons as well as the technical advances in its production and large area coating technologies, glass produced by the float
process has become a distinct and pervasive building material in modern architecture. Esthetic choices reflect the unique design
concept of the architect; on the other hand, the energy performance of the window glass, which is well understood and
measurable, allows the builder to identify the optimum product for different regional climates. This article will review the state
of art in flat glass and coated glass technology and will discuss the esthetic and optical characteristics of commercial glasses. It
will also provide a phenomenological account of heat transfer across glazings. Finally, several recent trends in architectural glass
technology will be presented.

Introduction The Glass House uses glass boldly as a building

In the introduction to Philip Johnson, The Glass
House,1 Kipnis quotes the late architect Le Corbusier:
‘‘the history of architecture was ‘the history of struggle
for the window’.’’ Natural lighting and physical con-
nection to our environment are integral to the design of
functional residential and commercial buildings. How-
ever, as Kipnis notes in the same article, a driving force
in architecture ‘‘is [for Philip Johnson] ‘first, foremost,
and finally a visual art’.’’ These dual demands of art and
function have challenged the glass maker for centuries.
arbab@ppg.com
Retired fellow, PPG Industries Inc.
r 2010 PPG Industries, Inc.
Journal compilation r 2010 The American Ceramic Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
material to create a continuum of space between the
outdoor and the living space. Several more examples in
South Western Pennsylvania, where the present authors
live, can illustrate the varied use of glass in architecture.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed his masterpiece—Falling-
Water—with noticeably low ceilings, in part to guide
the eye toward the large windows that frame the beau-
tiful natural surroundings of the house. The ALCOA
headquarters in Pittsburgh is an example of open façade
in commercial buildings, where the all-glass wall of the
six-story building is open to the Allegheny River and
the surrounding city environment, creating visibility in
both directions. The architect’s2 intent is to create an
‘‘open, casual, serendipitous, impromptu interaction;
spontaneous communication, ubiquitous access for all
to all at all times’’ environment for collaborative, non-
hierarchical teamwork in the building.
www.ceramics.org/IJAGS Glass in Architecture
The PPG Place in Pittsburgh—another building
that bears Philip Johnson’s signature, represents a mon-
umental building, where the ‘‘visual’’ effect is dominant.
Here, neogothic architecture and modern materials—
float glass and structural aluminum—combine to present
a constant visual message to the public, which unlike
Johnson’s glass house cannot be pierced through by the
stare of the observer.1
In the case of the FallingWater house, the glass
should be minimally encumbering as it is only a barrier
to the elements and otherwise unnecessary to the archi-
tect’s purpose. At the same time, if designed in more
recent years, the need for eco-friendly and energy-effi-
cient construction would have almost certainly been on
the architect’s mind. The ALCOA building was de-
signed at a time when modern technology could meet
both design and energy requirements, although the use
of intrusive shades reminds us that the glass in that
building is still in need of perfection. The PPG Place’s
monumental purpose on the other hand, requires glass
that appears as a shimmering wall that focuses the eye
on the building and not into it. Here, while energy
efficiency remains important, color and gloss are pre-
dominant. We wonder if Johnson would have chosen a
window glass that also provided more daylighting, if
that were available to him at the time of his work.
Contemporary tools available to the manufacturer
of architectural glass enable product design to meet
many of today’s needs of art and function. New modi-
fications to the glass furnace and process development
have enabled a wide range of glass colors and perfor-
mance attributes. Developments in glass coater and
coating technologies have resulted in exciting capabili-
ties in the optical design of new glass products.
Advances in the construction of durable insulated glass
windows have made energy-efficient fenestrations
affordable and commonplace.
The optical properties of glass, the construction of
the insulated glass unit (IGU), and the development of
materials used in the window and sash are important
parameters in defining the thermal performance of a
window. In spite of its visual and psychological indis-
pensability, and its direct energy saving and human
productivity benefit as a source of daylighting, the win-
dow contributes significantly to the thermal manage-
ment of buildings. Heat can be gained by transmission
of solar energy through glass. In warmer climates and
seasons, this will result in unwanted heat gain that in
affluent societies is normally countered by air condi-
119
tioning. In colder climates, solar heat gain can be bene-
ficial as it complements the heating system, but indoor
heat can be lost through the window by radiative, con-
ductive, and convective modes of heat transfer. Absorp-
tion and reemission of the indoor heat by the glass and
its conduction along the edges of the IGU or through
the sash and window frame are the major loss processes.
As a result, the annual space-conditioning energy con-
sumption of 2006 residential and commercial window
stock in the United States alone was estimated to be
about 2.24  1015 and 1.39  1015 BTU, respectively.3
Meeting the requirements to simultaneously save
energy, provide a comfortable and productive environ-
ment, while encompassing the esthetic desires of the ar-
chitect is challenging, and selecting the right glazing
system will ultimately depend on a balance of energy
savings, environmental impact, and esthetics. In this
paper, the principles behind the performance of window
glass and the critical parameters for evaluating and com-
paring glazing systems will be highlighted. Then, the
technologies and the assortment of high-performance
(HP) glasses and coatings that are in use today to meet
both the visual and energy efficiency expected of value-
added glazing products will be reviewed. Finally, there
will be a discussion of future possibilities and trends.
Heat Flow and Glazing Performance Parameters
The basic requirement for an energy-efficient glazing
system is to control the flow of energy that enters a space.
The sources of energy flow through a glazing system are
solar energy, reradiated thermal energy by matter that
absorbs solar energy, and conductive and convective heat
transfer due to the indoor–outdoor temperature difference.
The solar-thermal radiant energy spectral distribution,
shown in Fig. 1, illustrates these two distinct regions.
The solar is represented by the spectral irradiance at the
earth’s surface, Et (BTU/h ft2 nm), ranging from about 280
to 2150 nm4; the thermal is represented by a blackbody
emission spectrum at room temperature (721F, 221C),
ranging from about 3 to 50 mm with peak energy at 10 mm.
The total flow of energy through a glazing system is
conveniently expressed in terms of the individual solar
and thermal components given by
Q ¼ Qth þ Qsol ð1Þ
where Q is the total flow in BTU/h, and Qth and Qsol are
the thermal and solar components, respectively. The
120 International Journal of Applied Glass Science—Arbab and Finley
Fig. 1. Solar-thermal radiant energy spectral distribution. The
solar is represented by the spectral irradiance, Et, in BTU/h ft2 nm
(W/m2 nm) at the earth’s surface (airmass 1.5),4 ranging from 280
to 2150 nm; the thermal is represented by a blackbody emission
spectrum at room temperature (721F, 221C), ranging from about 3
to 50 mm with peak energy at 10 mm. Note the log scale of the
wavelength axis.
amount of heat loss or gain by the glazing system is
dictated by conductive, convective, and radiative trans-
fer processes. The solar and thermal components con-
tain coefficients or ‘‘performance indices’’ that have
been established5 to characterize these heat transfer
properties. The coefficient of thermal heat transfer, or
the U-factor, is related to the heat flow by the expression
Qth ¼ U  A  ðto  ti Þ
2 in the visible and rejects 100% of the solar and thermal
where U denotes the U-factor in units of BTU/h ft 1F
(W/m2 1C), A is the window area in ft2 (m2), and to and
ti are the outdoor and indoor temperatures in 1F (1C),
respectively.
The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), is related to
the heat flow through the expression
Qsol ¼ SHGC  A  Et
where SHGC is a dimensionless quantity, Et is the in-
cident spectral irradiance expressed in BTU/h ft2. Both
SHGC and U-factor are calculated for standardized am-
bient conditions (winter and summer) using Window
5.2 to determine the overall performance of various
glazing products.6
To simplify the discussion, the solar and thermal
properties will be described separately, as indicated
by Equations 2 and 3. As the focus is on the glazing,
only the center-of-glass, that is, ignoring the effects of
the edge, will be considered.
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
SHGC and Visible Light to Solar Gain (LSG) Ratio
SHGC is a measure of the ability of glass to block or
transmit solar heat both directly transmitted or absorbed
and subsequently released inward. SHGC differs from
direct solar transmittance, which does not include the
contribution of the reemitted absorbed heat.
The SHGC is related to the heat flow by Equation 3
and is given by
SHGC ¼ Tsol þ ðN  AabsÞ ð4Þ
where Tsol the direct solar transmittance, Aabs the solar
absorptance, and N the inward fraction of reemitted
absorbed radiation, are all dimensionless parameters. As
the transmittance and absorptance are wavelength de-
pendent, the SHGC is evaluated by integrating over the
entire wavelength range of the solar spectrum such that
R
Et ðlÞ½Tsol ðlÞ þ N ðlÞ  Aabs ðlÞd l
R ð5Þ
Et ðlÞd l
As an example, the solar portion of SHGC for these
glazings can be visualized graphically by summing the
product of the spectral irradiance curve (Et), referred to
in Fig. 1, and the ‘‘ideal’’ cold or warm climate trans-
mittance curve at each wavelength over the solar wave-
length range. The ideal cold climate curve transmits
maximum solar energy and rejects 100% of the thermal
ð2Þ infrared energy. The ideal warm region curve transmits
infrared energy. The ultimate transmittance will depend
on the region, with lower visible transmittance in
warmer climates. The preferred method of rejecting en-
ergy is by reflection as this reduces the inward fraction
reemitted absorbed radiation. The significance of this
distinction will become clear in the description of
ð3Þ coated glazings. Spectral selectivity is defined in terms
of the LSG as
LSG ¼ VLT=SHGC ð6Þ
where VLT is the visible light transmittance. This is
shown in Fig. 1 as the spectral region between 380 and
780 nm. Glass with an LSG of 1.25 or more is consid-
ered to be spectrally selective.7 High LSG is important
where maximum daylighting along with minimum solar
heat load is desirable. Reduction of energy costs due to
air-conditioning and lighting can be realized by an
appropriate selection of the glazing system.
www.ceramics.org/IJAGS Glass in Architecture 121

U-Factor Fortunately, emittance is a surface effect that can be

changed by creating a ‘‘new’’ surface by depositing a
Compared with opaque construction materials used low emissivity coating on glass. The coating is normally
in the building’s façade, glass alone does not provide ad- located on an inside surface of the IGU and is protected
equate insulation. As a result, there are increased thermal from indoor and outdoor exposure.
losses via convective, conductive, and radiative transfer.
To minimize thermal losses due to convective and
Glass—Processes and Products
conductive heat transfer, an insulated glazing unit, or
IGU, is constructed by arranging two, or sometimes
The float process was first introduced about 50
three panels of glass with their plane surfaces parallel
years ago and has since become the predominant
and separated by gaps. Today’s energy-efficient win-
method of flat glass production.9 The advent of this
dows use a separate IGU consisting of a spacer to main-
process has resulted in commercial availability of high
tain the gap, and an adhesive to attach the glass to the
quality and affordable glass as a primary building
spacer. To reduce convective thermal transfer across the
material. Large area glass is now routinely produced
IGU, a low conductance gas is used to fill the gap. Ar-
with excellent thickness uniformity and optical quality
gon, having a larger molecular size than both nitrogen
as well as consistent strength and residual stress. In more
and oxygen (air) is preferred; krypton, an even heavier
recent years, emphasis on esthetics and energy conser-
but more expensive gas, is used mostly in triple glazing
vation have resulted in the development of glasses with
systems for optimum performance in cold climates.
selective spectral properties, that is, various colors and
The U-factor is related to heat flow by Equation 2 as
absorptive properties in the nonvisible portion of the
discussed in the last section. For an IGU, the coefficients
solar spectrum. Figure 2 displays typical examples of
that determine the center-of-glass U-factor are given by
many of the colors available to the architect.
1 The tinted glass color pallet has evolved over time as a
U ¼ ð7Þ
1=ho þ 1=hi þ 1=ht result of both the architectural community’s preferences
and the glass manufacturers’ ability to respond to them.
where ho and hi are the outside and inside heat transfer
An examination of Fig. 2 suggests a preference for green,
coefficients, respectively, and ht is the heat transfer coeffi-
cient of the glazing unit. The values of ho and hi are cal-
culated for standard winter and summer conditions.5 The
coefficient for the IGU, ht, incorporates the conductive
properties of the glass, along with the conductive and
convective transfer in the gas space, and radiative transfer
across the gas space. Conductance through the glass is
proportional to its thermal conductivity and inversely
proportional to its thickness; across the gap, heat transfer
depends on the properties of the gas, that is, thermal con-
ductance, density, viscosity, and the width of the gap.
Radiative heat transfer depends on the emissivity of
the glass surfaces enclosing the space and the temperatures
of the surfaces, which emit or radiate thermal radiation
(see Fig. 1—Blackbody spectrum). A good emitter, that
is, high emissivity surface, is a good absorber (according to
Fig. 2. Typical examples of commercially available transmitted
Kirchhoff’s law8 and, as a consequence, absorbs and
glass colors. Color is designated in the a and b coordinates.30
reradiates thermal radiation resulting in indoor to out-
Along the a axis, moving to the left or the right of the origin
door heat loss in cold weather. Conversely, a low emit- indicates increasing green or red hues, respectively. Similarly, along
tance surface reflects, rather than emits thermal radiation, the b axis, respective hues above or below the origin are
thus preventing heat loss. A float glass surface with an increasingly yellow or blue. A third dimension of color, L (not
emissivity of 0.84 is an efficient thermal radiator, resulting shown here)—describing intensity—is necessary for the complete
in significant energy loss through radiant thermal transfer. definition of color.
122 International Journal of Applied Glass Science—Arbab and Finley
blue, and neutral (grouped in the shaded region) colors, in
an increasing order. With one exception (the so-called
bronze in the upper right quarter of this chart), hues that
are predominantly purple, red, or yellow have not created
the popularity that would encourage their commercial
production. It is useful to note that in the absence of a
coating, the transmitted color of glass, which is shown in
Figs. 2 and 3, essentially defines the reflected appearance
of glass color. On the other hand, optically thin film
coatings on either surface of glass can impart distinct col-
ors to glass with complementary transmitted and reflected
effects. The distinction is important, most visibly from the
so-called curb-side view of the building (we will return to
this subject below).
Bamford10 has given a comprehensive account of
glass colorants. Oxides of iron, cobalt, chromium, man-
ganese as well as selenium and some of the rare-earth
metal oxides have strong absorption in the visible (380–
780 nm) range of the spectrum and, therefore impart
color to glass. The concentration of these colorants also
determines the percent transmittance of visible light
through the final product, that is, in addition to pro-
ducing more saturated colors, adding more colorants
reduces the total amount of light that enters the indoors
spaces by absorption, thus resulting in less direct solar
(Tsol) heating and less natural daylighting. Except for
Fig. 3. Calculated transmitted color of soda–lime–silicate (SLS)
window glass as a function of the total concentration of total iron
oxide (weight percent, as Fe2O3) and glass redox, calculated as the
ratio of the weight percents of FeO over total iron oxides. Color was
calculated for an SLS composition free from other colorants. Each
curve corresponds to the indicated redox for a range of total iron
oxide concentration of 0.01 (near the origin) to 1.6% by weight.
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
oxides of iron, the other colorants used in architectural
glasses absorb essentially only in the visible range of the
solar spectrum, which constitutes nearly half of terres-
trial solar energy.11 Ferrous oxide (FeO) is unique in its
strong, relatively broad absorption in the solar infra-red
range with a tail extending into the visible. At the same
time, ferric oxide (Fe2O3) absorbs the blue and ultravi-
olet wavelengths. As transmitted color is defined by the
unabsorbed wavelengths, these two oxides function as
blue and yellow colorants, respectively. In glass, both
oxidation states of iron exist in relative concentrations
defined by the concentration of total iron oxide in glass
and the fraction of the total that is present as FeO (a
measure of glass redox). Thus, depending on the relative
concentrations of these two species, and in the absence
of any other colorant, a range of glass colors from yel-
lowish green to bluish green is possible (Fig. 3).
It is important to note that, for a given total iron
concentration, higher glass redox, or higher FeO con-
centration, results in a more infrared-absorbing glass
that reduces the direct solar energy transmittance (Tsol)
through the window.12 At the same time, Fig. 3 dem-
onstrates that the preferential increase of the FeO con-
centration drives the glass color toward blue,
independent of the total concentration of iron oxide.
This has been the basis of several HP blue13 that are also
displayed in the lower left quadrant of Fig. 2. This is an
important aspect of spectral selectivity; controlling the
FeO concentration, particularly by increasing the redox
ratio of glass, can result in products that admit more
visible light and relatively less solar infrared heat into the
building. In addition to the choice of color, a carefully
chosen combination of total concentration of iron ox-
ide, redox ratio, and other colorants can result in opti-
mizing the product attributes including color, SHGC,
and visible transmittance; when all the above attributes
are significant, it may become necessary to prioritize
their importance. For example, minimizing SHGC,
while maintaining a high visible transmittance, limit
the range of possible colors.
There are several limitations to the design of spec-
trally selective compositions. From a manufacturing point
of view, the increased concentration of ferrous oxide also
reduced heat transfer through the glass melt. In most float
glass furnaces, heat is delivered to the batch and the melt
by overhead combustion of natural gas or oil.14 Increasing
the FeO concentration reduces the radiative heat transfer
coefficient of the melt; this necessitates adjustments to the
furnace operating conditions.
www.ceramics.org/IJAGS Glass in Architecture
In addition to the manufacturing issues, there are
other compositional constraints from the final product
perspective. Several major limitations include:
(1) The addition of iron oxide usually requires the
addition of other colorants to produce the desired color.
As increasing the total concentration of colorants rap-
idly darkens the glass, reducing the SHGC by increasing
its FeO concentration becomes increasing less feasible.
In particular, for very high VLT requirements (e.g., the
ALCOA Building or the FallingWater house), adding
large concentrations of FeO is not an option.
(2) The mechanism for reducing the solar heat
gain via the composition route is absorption. In the ab-
sence of strong convective cooling (e.g., cool and windy
outdoor air), the glass temperature increases and the hot
glass reradiates the heat, about 50% of which enters the
indoor space. Reflecting solar energy does not pose a
similar problem.
(3) Insulation in cold winter weather requires the
reflection of the thermal heat (721F, 221C) back to-
wards the room. Infrared reflectivity is a surface phe-
nomenon that occurs due to free-electrons in metal-like
surfaces.15 Oxide glasses, independent of their color are
highly insulating materials.
(4) High visible gloss (e.g., the PPG Place) cannot
be attained via composition alone. As the bulk com-
position of glass constitutes soda lime silicate (SLS), the
real index of refraction remains essentially unchanged at
about 1.5 at 550 nm, with the relatively small con-
centration of colorants (e.g., o2% of the total compo-
sition by weight).
To counter these limitations, the architectural glass
industry and some of its suppliers have developed
advanced large area glass coating technologies. Thin op-
tical films can tailor the spectral reflectance, absorbance,
and transmittance of glass with significantly more
degrees of freedom. The next sections will include
examples of these possibilities and provide an overview
of two major large area coating technologies deployed
by glass manufacturers today.
Coated Glazing Products
To fill the need of art and function as outlined in
the introduction, the visible properties of glazing prod-
ucts range from low transmitting, and possibly highly
reflecting, with LSG values o1.0, to highly transmit-
ting in the visible, while blocking the solar and thermal
123
heat with LSG values of 1.4 or greater. These products
are produced by applying coatings either on the glass
ribbon (on-line) by chemical vapor deposition
(CVD)12, or off-line by sputter deposition16 of spe-
cialized coatings. In this section, three types of coat-
ings—reflective dielectrics, transparent conductive
oxides (TCO), and multilayer-metal dielectric stacks
are combined with clear and tinted glasses to illustrate
the broad range of possibilities, as well as the limita-
tions of today’s glazing systems. The benefits in energy
savings, when considering the U-factor and SHGC of a
glazing system for a particular climate region, are also
illustrated.
The first type includes highly reflective products,
which use either single high refractive index17 or multi-
layer coatings on clear or tinted glasses. Absorbing metal
oxide coatings, in particular, the spinel coatings18,19
have unique esthetic properties, while providing a de-
gree of solar control. The Co–Cr–Fe–O spinel was the
first architectural coated product,20 which still enjoys
commercial success today. Having visible transmittance
of 34% and reflectance of 37% on 3-mm clear glass, and
an LSG of 0.65, this coating provides shading in the
visible region of the spectrum. Spinel coatings are also as
durable as the glass surface, allowing ease of handling by
glass fabricators.
The second type consists of passive solar ‘‘Low-E’’
products (defined to have a SHGC of 40.4021), mainly
comprising TCOs, having high visible transmittance
around 82% on 3-mm glass, and emissivity around
0.20. Fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO2:F), in particular,
is deposited by CVD over the glass surface as it moves
along the float line in the glass-forming chamber.12,22
As the index of refraction of tin oxide is much higher
than the glass substrate, the visible reflectivity and color
of the final product require optical layers below it to
meet the requirements of highly transparent window
applications, for example residential housing. Although
the final coating is thin ( 300 nm), SnO2:F, like the
spinel coatings are as durable as the glass surface.
The final type encompasses a new generation of
‘‘multilayer,’’ spectrally selective coatings, with high vis-
ible light transmittance (VLT), a range of SHGC’s, and
LSG values 41.40. These coatings first appeared in the
early 1980s when the sputter deposition process16 was
introduced as a manufacturing process. This enabled
large volume commercial production of multilayer
coatings with silver layers. The first of this generation
consisted of a single silver layer surrounded by metal
124 International Journal of Applied Glass Science—Arbab and Finley
oxide layers on a glass substrate (glass/metal oxide—
silver—metal oxide).23,24 The high refractive index metal
oxide layers antireflect the low index silver layer in
the visible spectrum.25 The silver layer is highly reflec-
tive in the solar and thermal infrared and has low
absorbance in the visible region of the spectrum. The
individual layers measure only tens of nanometers in
thickness. The market for this product is primarily for
use as passive Low-E glass in IGUs, providing a low
U-value and a high light transmittance.
Continuing with the progression of adding silver
layers, it was with the introduction of the double silver
layer coating (glass/metal oxide—silver—metal oxide—
silver—metal oxide), first commercialized in the auto-
motive industry in the late 1980s26,27 that solar control
Low-E glazing (defined to have a SHGC of o0.407,21)
with enhanced spectral selectivity was realized. The ad-
ditional silver layers increase both the solar infrared and
thermal reflectivity with a corresponding reduction in
SHGC and emissivity (and consequently U-factor), re-
spectively. Visible transmittance remains high due to the
low absorption of the silver layer, leading to LSG values
approaching 1.8 or greater. Today, the drive to reduce
energy consumption in buildings and meet environ-
mental standards has increased demand for double silver
layer-coated glass in solar Low-E glazing products.
A nearly optimized coating for spectrally selectivity,
that is, approaching the ideal curve for the warm climate
region—when considering a combination of perfor-
mance, neutrality, and cost effective processing—is the
triple silver layer coating (glass/metal oxide—silver—
metal oxide—silver—metal oxide—silver—metal oxide)
with an LSG value approaching 2.4. The triple silver
layer coating has been shown to reduce capital equip-
ment costs for HVAC systems and annual energy sav-
ings returns, and dramatically reduced the level of CO2
emissions associated with the heating and cooling of
commercial buildings.28
The physical properties that account for the behav-
ior of these three types of coatings are illustrated in
Fig. 4 in terms of percent transmittance (%T) versus
wavelength (nm) in the visible and solar infrared region
of the spectrum. The spectral selectivity is clearly indi-
cated for F:SnO2, and the single (1), double (2), and
triple (3) silver layer coatings. These coatings are essen-
tially spectral filters that reflect, rather than absorb the
solar infrared, while transmitting the visible. Therefore,
within certain design and materials constraints (e.g., the
complex index of refraction and thickness of the indi-
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
Fig. 4. Percent transmittance (%T) versus wavelength (nm) in
the visible and solar infrared region of the spectrum of the low
emissivity coatings F:SnO2, and single (1), double (2), and triple
(3) layer silver coatings, and highly reflective spinel coating. The
coatings are on 3-mm clear glass.
vidual layer), they can be formulated to impart specific
reflected color (and the complementary transmitted
color) to the glass substrate. In most residential and
many commercial building applications, the esthetic
preference is for neutrality of color—that is, no color
at all, which is also often consistent with a high amount
of natural daylighting. The silver layer coatings show a
progressively sharper cutoff in the solar infrared with
less relative attenuation in the visible as the number of
silver layers increases, thus approaching the behavior of
the ‘‘ideal’’ filter for warm climate curve, as shown in
Fig. 1. The triple silver layer and F:SnO2 coatings ap-
proximate the warm and cold climate curves, respec-
tively, while the single and double silver layer coatings
fall between these limits. This assures a range of coatings
that can suit most performance requirements for a glaz-
ing system. The spinel coating shows the opposite trend,
with low transmittance in the visible and a degree of
solar infrared rejection. This coating provides visible
light shading and a metallic reflectance, which conveys a
‘‘shimmering’’ appearance. This coating is used in com-
bination with HP tinted glasses to provide additional
attenuation in the solar infrared, while producing a
tinted gloss esthetic.
Although numerous coating and glass combina-
tions meet a wide range of functional and esthetic con-
ditions in glazing systems, there are limits to their
properties. Figure 5 depicts a landscape of the physical
properties for glazing systems in terms of VLT and LSG
as a function of SHGC.7,29 The ‘‘physical limit’’ curve
marks the boundary outside of which no physical glaz-
ing system can be realized, and can be understood in
www.ceramics.org/IJAGS Glass in Architecture
Fig. 5. Optical properties landscape for double-glazed IGUs in
terms of VLT and LSG as a function of SHGC. The IGUs have
outer lights with 6 mm clear, and tinted and (high-performance
[HP]) tinted glasses; and one-, two-, and three-layer silver and
F:SnO2 coatings on clear; and three-layer silver coating on tinted
and (HP) tinted glasses. The coating, when present, is on the #2
surface, the gap is 6 mm and the gas is 90% Ar–10% air. The
inner light is 6 mm ultraclear. The ‘‘physical limit’’ curve marks the
boundary outside of which no physical glazing system can be
realized.7 The portion of the curve in the solar infrared
(780–2150 nm) is formed by reducing the bandwidth of the cold
climate curve (see Fig. 1), while keeping the transmittance constant.
The portion of the curve in the visible is optimized for LSG
(maximum photopic response wavelength)30 by further decreasing
the bandwidth of the curve in the visible centered around 550 nm,
while keeping the magnitude of the visible transmittance constant
(see Finley and Heithoff29). Ultraclear glass (6 mm) is used in a
double-glazed IGU configuration to model the ‘‘Physical Limit’’
curve. The neutral limit line defines the boundary for neutral color.
The region to the left of the line has color; the region to the right can
be neutral or have color, depending on the shape of the
transmittance or reflectance curve of the coating or glass. The line is
formed by reducing the magnitude of the visible transmittance
(380–780 nm), while keeping the bandwidth in the visible
wavelength constant. The LSG lines are the slope of the VLT versus
SHGC. Glazing with LSV values of 1.25 or greater are spectrally
selective.7
terms of the ideal curves in Fig. 1. By narrowing the
bandwidth of the cold climate curve, starting at the long
wavelength limit of the solar infrared (2150 nm) and
moving towards the visible (780 nm), while keeping the
magnitude of the transmittance constant, there is a cor-
responding decrease in the SHGC, with VLT remaining
constant. This is indicated by the flat line section of the
curve. Then, by further narrowing the cold climate
curve in the visible spectrum around the center point
wavelength at 550 nm to optimize LSG (maximum
photopic response wavelength),30 VLT decreases along
with SHGC, as indicated by the steep falloff of the curve
125
as the wavelength approaches the UV (below 380 nm)
at lower values of SHGC. As the bandwidth of the
cold climate curve is decreased further, the color
becomes greener. If instead, the bandwidth in the
visible (380 nm–780 nm) is kept constant and the mag-
nitude of the transmittance is decreased, the neutral
limit curve is formed, as indicated by the neutral color
limit line in Fig. 5. Points to the left of the line will have
color; points to the right can be essentially neutral or
have color, depending on the detailed shape of the
transmittance or reflectance curve of the coating or
glass. As discussed earlier, the shapes of these curves
are designed by the glass maker for a certain perfor-
mance and esthetic.
The data shown in Fig. 5 are for double-glazed IGUs
with 6 mm clear and tinted glasses; one, two, and three-
layer silver and F:SnO2 coatings on clear; and three-layer
silver coating on tinted glasses. The coating, when present,
is on the #2 surface, the gap is 6 mm and the gas is 90%
Ar 10% air. The inner light is 6 mm ultraclear. Of par-
ticular note are the relatively high LSG values of the silver
multilayer coatings, increasing as a function of the num-
ber of silver layers. Considering Equation 6, with SHGC
varying over a wide range (0.56–0.28), while VLT varies
over a narrow range (78–64%), LSG ranges from about
1.4 to 2.3. The figure clearly indicates that the highest
LSG and lowest SHGC are achieved by the triple silver
layer glazing. These coatings are particularly useful for
conditions where solar heat load reduction and daylight-
ing are important.
Several noteworthy aspects of architectural glass
shown in Fig. 2 are indicated in this figure. Data points
with SHGC40.35 correspond to uncoated products. In
spite of the scatter in data, we can point to two groups of
compositions, as suggested by the arbitrary trapezoids
drawn about each group. While similar values of SHGC
can be identified in the two groupings, there is a distinct
difference in ranges of VLT between them. For the group
on the lower right of the chart, this ratio is about one or
less, while for the higher FeO containing group on the
upper right, the ratio is about 1.4, or higher, indicating a
selectively higher relative transmission of the visible light.
Admitting more visible light—at a given color—allows
more daylighting while there is less need for air-condi-
tioning compared with the higher SHGC glasses of similar
VLT and color. The performance data for the two groups
of product at the lower left of the chart show the reduced
SHGC of their uncoated glass counterparts as a highly
heat reflecting coating is applied to one surface of the
126 International Journal of Applied Glass Science—Arbab and Finley
substrate. While the coating strongly reduces the SHGC,
there is less impact on the VLT through the glass pane
due to the design of this coating. Also, the tightening of
the range of the performance of coated substrates relative
to that of their uncoated counterparts, demonstrates the
dominating effect of the high performance coating used
for this graph.
Where additional shading and flexibility in esthetic
are desirable features, combinations of tinted glasses with
the reflective and silver layer coatings offer a wider variety
of choices and additional benefit in solar heat load reduc-
tion. The neutral color limit shows the esthetic boundary
related to glazing system color. Also noted is the gap be-
tween the physical limit and what is currently practiced.
The physical limit is based on the cold climate curve,
shown in Fig. 1, which assumes no absorption and re-
flectance of solar energy outside of the spectral bandwidth.
Without using costly methods to fabricate multilayer
bandwidth filters,31 which better approximate a square
bandpass filter, approaching the characteristics of the ideal
is beyond the current cost-effective processing methods
described earlier.16 Silver, having material properties
including the lowest absorptance and highest infrared
reflectance, along with a low index of refraction, outper-
forms any single thin film material in a multilayer coating
stack. The deposition process using these materials
(including low absorbing high index metal oxide layers)
allows large area, high volume manufacturing of this type
of coating. As a result, silver-based coatings define the
current state-of-the-art technology.
Product Applications—IGU Configurations for
Climate Zones
As shown by Equations 2 and 3, the U-factor and
SHGC fully describe the total energy flow across the IG
unit. By adjusting these performance indices, glazing
systems can be tuned using different combinations of
coatings and glass to suit conditions in different climate
zones. This is illustrated in Fig. 6, where the center-
of-glass U-factor and SHGC are plotted for passive21
and solar control7,21 Low-E glazing systems using clear
and high performance tints. Included on the chart are
Energy Star requirements for residential window and
door32 for climate zones in the United States. The data
for the Low-E glazing on clear glass fall along two curves
as indicated in the figure, and the data for coated and
uncoated HP tints described in the previous section (see
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
Fig. 6. Center-of-glass U-factor and SHGC for passive21 and
solar control7,21 Low-E glazing in double and triple glazed IGUs
using 6 mm clear and high-performance tints. The coating is on the
#2 surface in the double glazed IGU, and the #2 and #5 surfaces in
the triple glazed IGU (note: outside surface is the #1 surface). Each
point on the curve represents either a coated or uncoated substrate
designated as follows: uncoated (1), F:SnO2 (), single (m 1 Ag
(A), (B)), double (~ 2 Ag), triple ( & 3 Ag) silver layer coatings.
Each curve represents an IGU configuration designated as Double
Glaze Clear Glass and Triple Glaze Clear Glass in the figure. The
double glaze IGU has 90% argon-air fill with a 13-mm gap. The
triple glazed IGUs—with either 95% krypton-air fill and 6 mm
gaps, or 90% argon-air fill and 13-mm gaps—are equivalent in
performance and shown as one curve. Energy Star regulations for
residential window and door32 for climate zones in the North,
North/Central, South/Central, and South climate zones of the
United are indicated by the four boxes. Data are calculated based
on NFRC methodology, using LBL’s Window 5.2 software.6
Winter nighttime U-factor is given expressed in BTU/h ft2 1F.
Fig. 5) are shown in two groupings indicated in this
figure by the ellipses. The curves represent different
IGU configurations, and each data point on the curve
represents an IGU glazed with either coated (# 2 surface
for double glazed; # 2 and #5 surface for triple glazed) or
uncoated glass. The curve labeled ‘‘Double Glazed IG
Unit—clear glass’’ shows a significant decrease in both
U-factor and SHGC from the uncoated to the F:SnO2
and single silver layer (1 Ag) configurations. Of note are
the data points labeled ‘‘1 Ag Layer (B),’’ which has
higher SHGC relatively to ‘‘1 Ag Layer (A),’’ while
maintaining low U-factor. This coating is specifically
designed to optimize the solar heat gain, while preserv-
ing thermal insulation for northern climate regions. In
general, these IGUs have SHGC40.40 and are classified
as passive Low-E, which are preferred in the northern cli-
mate zones. Double (2 Ag) and triple (3 Ag) coatings have
www.ceramics.org/IJAGS Glass in Architecture
slightly lower U-factors with SHGCo0.40 and fall into
the solar Low-E category. These configurations are pre-
ferred in the north/central, south/central, and southern
climate zones, respectively. Additional silver layers have a
greater effect on reducing SHGC than U-factor, account-
ing for the flattening out of the curve at higher SHGC.
The underlying cause of this behavior is the dramatic de-
crease in solar infrared transmittance (Fig. 4) with a cor-
responding increase in reflectance, as opposed to the
fractional increase in thermal infrared reflectance, which
is already 490% for two and three silver layer coatings.
The curve labeled ‘‘Triple Glazed IG Unit—clear glass’’
shows another significant decrease in U-factor with
changes in SHGC primarily due to increases in absorp-
tion from the additional coating and glass. The IGUs
glazed with a high-performance tint (6 mm) are within
specifications for all climate zones with a three-layer silver
coating. The SHGC is lower than three-layer silver on
clear glass with a similar U-factor.
These examples illustrate an inherent capability
of both multilayer coatings and the manufacturing pro-
cess discussed earlier to design and produce glazing
systems to meet performance criteria. They also dem-
onstrate how far the state of technology in glass coatings
has advanced the product performance for IGUs, but
they also show the limitations that remain in realizing
further improvements in thermal insulation (U-factor)
and solar control (SHGC). Technologies, including
vacuum glazing where the gap is evacuated, and dy-
namic glazing (discussed below) are some of the answers
that pose future challenges.
Self-Cleaning Glass
This paper has focused on esthetics and energy effi-
ciency of glass, that is, the two key attributes of archi-
tectural glass that continue to drive the development of
new technology.
In recent years, based on new insight into the prop-
erties of photoactive materials, particularly anatase, a crys-
talline phase of TiO2, several self-cleaning glass products
have been introduced to the market. The valence-con-
duction band gap energy of anatase (3.2 eV) corresponds
to the photon energies within the UV range of solar
spectrum (387 nm, or shorter wavelengths). In the pres-
ence of moist air, the photoelectric formation of electron-
hole pairs near the surface of TiO2, results in the forma-
tion of highly reactive hydroxyl, OH, and superoxide
127
anion, O 2 radicals (Arbab et al.12 and cited work
therein) that in turn result in the catalyzed oxidation
and decomposition of organic species adsorbed on the
surface of glass coated with anatase. The removal of
hydrophobic organic species from the surface and the
inherent photo-induced hydrophilicity of anatase films
result in the sheeting of rainwater on the surface of win-
dow glass. This, in turn, helps remove the particles of dust
and other loosely adhering inorganic dirt from the surface
thus rendering the glass cleaner for long periods of time.
Increasing the photoactivity of the coating enhances the
self-cleaning activity, and has been demonstrated.
Dynamic Windows
A dynamic window can respond to the changing
ambient conditions to adjust the amount of light and total
solar energy that enters the living space. In spite of their
potential as a critical element in zero-energy3 buildings,
dynamic windows, and most notably various electrochro-
mic (EC) technologies, it has not yet achieved broad
commercial success. The current state of commercialized
systems, do not meet all three market requirements of
cost, functionality, and esthetic appeal. The cost of the
dynamic window to the builder or owner remains very
high, ranging from a factor of five to ten times over
existing glazing systems primarily due to complex, low
volume manufacturing combined with the additional cost
of system installation of power and control hardware. The
most successful large area EC system commercialized for
windows in buildings include inorganic coloring elec-
trodes, the most common being thin-film tungsten triox-
ide (WO3). The esthetics are appealing, but limited
usually to a deep blue transmitted color in the darkened
state. For low transmittance, low shading conditions this
system has an exceptional performance and has applica-
tions where it is desirable to reduce direct sunlight during
the day, such as skylights. Functionality is good but re-
stricted, as both visible and solar infrared regions of the
spectrum change in transmittance simultaneously, and
high LSG cannot be realized with this system alone.33
Figure 7 shows the transmittance as a function of
wavelength in the clear and darkened state for an EC
device using thin-film WO3 as a coloring electrode.19
The chart illustrates the simultaneous change in trans-
mittance in the visible and solar infrared portions of the
spectrum from the lightened to darkened state.
128 International Journal of Applied Glass Science—Arbab and Finley
Fig. 7. Transmittance as a function of wavelength in the clear and
darkened state for an electrochromic device using thin-film WO3 as
the coloring electrode.19 The chart illustrates the simultaneous change
in transmittance in the visible and solar infrared portions of the
spectrum from the lightened to darkened state.
Some EC systems have been successfully commer-
cialized for nonbuilding window applications, such as
dye-based systems for dimmable aircraft cabin windows
and automotive mirrors. This system is simple in con-
struction, requiring only an EC dye between transparent
conductive electrodes, but technical hurdles remain for
large-scale applications. Organic EC’s, which claim to
have the potential to become the lowest priced system
with low cost materials and processing, have been
explored in recent years. However, as with all organic
systems, there are issues not only with stability upon ex-
posure to sunlight, but with cycling between light and
dark states during exposure at elevated temperature.33
New materials and technologies, combining EC and pho-
tovoltaic functions to create windows that supply their
own power to control transmittance, are now being ex-
plored in R&D labs, but they are at the concept stage.34
Finally, liquid crystal-based or suspended particle
device (SPD) technologies, which effectively scatter vis-
ible light in the off-state and are clear in the energized
state act as a visible light shade and opacity for privacy.
SPD has been on the market for several decades, but has
only seen limited commercialization.
Conclusion
Although the range of choice is limited by glass
chemistry and the physics of thin films, different com-
binations of various glass tints and coatings offer a wide-
range of architectural possibilities. The float process is
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010
the manufacturing method of choice for architectural
glass. The past 20 years have witnessed significant ad-
vances in three areas of: heat-absorbing glass manufac-
turing, low-emissivity CVD coatings, and multilayer
physical vapor deposited low-emissivity solar heat rejec-
tion glass coatings. These products have in turn allowed
the designation of different climate zones relative to the
thermal performance of window glass, resulting in more
energy-efficient building facades. When current trends
in the development of dynamic window and building
integrated sources of renewable energy technologies
translate into new cost-effective products, the concept
of zero-energy buildings will become possible; until
then, a significant investment in research and develop-
ment of these products remains necessary.
Acknowledgements
One of us (M. A.) would like to thank K. Arbab for
bringing Kipnis1 to his attention.
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