Window Types

Single Hung Window Double Hung Window

Fixed Window Casement Window

 Sliding Window Awning Window

Hopper Window

Types of Glass Used in Windows

There are multiple ways of treating glass to enhance its strength, energy efficiency, or
appearance. For a detailed discussion of the code implications of safety glazing in
buildings, we suggest Douglas Hansen's article, Safety Glazing.

Float Glass
Float glass gets its name from the modern process used to create large, thin, flat panels
from molten glass. The molten glass is passed onto a pool of molten tin. This process
produces a very smooth piece of glass with a highly consistent thickness.

Annealed Glass
Annealed glass is a piece of float glass that has been cooled in a slow and controlled
manner. This slow cooling process reduces the internal stresses within the sheet of
glass so that it becomes stronger. Float glass is generally annealed and is the starting
point for further treatment. Annealed glass will break into large and sharp shards or
pieces. Due to safety concerns, annealed glass is rarely used in buildings.

Heat Strengthened Glass

Heat strengthened glass is made from a sheet of annealed glass that is reheated
beyond its annealing point of about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and then cooled rapidly,
but not as rapidly as tempered glass. Since it isn't cooled as quickly, the compressive
and tensile stresses aren't quite equal across a section of glass. Therefore, the glass is
only about twice as strong as annealed glass. Heat strengthened glass will break into
smaller pieces than annealed glass, but these pieces may still be sharp and can cause
injury. For this reason, heat strengthened glassis not considered to be safety glass.
Heat strengthened glass is rarely used in buildings except when it is laminated.

Fully Tempered Glass

Tempering is a process that takes a piece of annealed glass and makes it four times as
strong. After annealed glass is cut and finished to size (tempered glass cannot be cut),
it is heated past its annealing point of about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, the glass
is very rapidly cooled, which allows the internal portion of the glass to remain fluid for
some time. Since the center stays fluid longer than the outer surfaces, an equal amount
of tensile and compressive stresses are formed across the glass, which makes it
significantly stronger. Fully tempered glass is a safety glass that will shatter into small
granular pieces, which reduces the risk of injury.

Tempered glass is ideally used as a safety glass where the glazing may need to be
broken out of the frame in an emergency. For instance, the side windows of a car are
tempered so that they can be broken away in the event of an accident.

Laminated Glass
Laminated glass is made by fusing two or more layers of glass with inter-layers of
polyvinyl butyral (PVB) through the use of heat and pressure. The process creates a
safety glass.

If the laminated glass is made using sheets of heat strengthened glass, then the sheet
of glass will break into large pieces, but it will be held in the frame by the PVB inter-
layer. This provides safety, but also adds a level of security since the glass remains in
place and prevents a person or object from passing through.

If the laminated glass is made using sheets of tempered glass, then the sheet will fall
out of the frame, but will mostly stay together due to the PVB inter-layer. The glass
looks a lot like a wet blanket when shattered.

Laminated glass is best used as a safety glass where the glazing must remain intact if it
is broken - either for safety or security. For instance, the windshield of a car is laminated
heat-strengthened glass so that if an object hits it, the object won't pass through and
injure an occupant nor will the glass shatter into the faces of the occupants.

Wire Glass
Wire glass is generally thought to be stronger than annealed glass; however, this is not
true. Wire glass is actually less strong than annealed glass because the integrated wire
disrupts the continuity of the glass structure. Wire glass is not considered to be safety
glass.

Wire glass is most often used as a fire resistant glass because the wire holds the glass
in place if it shatters due to high heat. In addition, the wire holds the broken glass in
place under pressure from a fire hose. Under high temperatures, the wire holds the
glass in place better than the PVB films used in laminated glass.
Insulated Glass Unit (IGU)
Insulated glass units (IGU) are built-up assemblies where two pieces of glass are
separated by a spacer - this is referred to as double-glazing. Triple-glazing is becoming
more common and is made of three pieces of glass and two spacers. The spaces
between pieces of glass can be filled with air or an inert gas, such as Argon. Argon is
most common, but Xenon and Krypton are more efficient (and considerably more
expensive). The sheets of glass are tempered or laminated for safety, and are generally
1/4" thick with a 1/2" air space. Finally, the most critical component of an IGU is the
desiccant, which removes humidity from the cavity to prevent condensation within the
IGU.

Double-glazed IGUs made from 1/4" glass and a 1/2" space filled with air have an R-
value of around R-2. Changing the air to Argon gas raises the R-value to R-3. Further
changing the glass to Low-E, described below, can take the assembly to an R-value of
R-4. Finally, a triple-glazed IGU can have a value of R-5 or slightly higher. As always,
please refer to manufacturer data for R-values of specific IGUs.

Low-Emissivity Glass
Low-emissivity (Low-E) glass is glass that has a special coating that reflects the infrared
portions of light, while letting the visible light spectrum through. This is beneficial
because the infrared heat from the sun is reflected away from the building in the
summer and during the winter the infrared heat that is already inside a building is
reflected back into the space.

There are two general types of Low-E coating, tin or silver. Tin oxide is applied to the
glass at high temperatures to create a very hard and durable Low-E coating. The
alternative is a silver coating, which must be enclosed in an IGU so that the silver
doesn't degrade over time due of oxidation.

Low-E coatings often have a slight blue-green tint, which many architects find
unacceptable. Newer Low-E coatings are produced with less tint, but it is important to
review product samples daylight at varying angles to fully understand what the
aesthetics will be when installed.

Glass Surface Numbers

Glass surfaces are identified by number, starting with the exterior surface, which is
always Surface Number 1. Each pane of glass has two surfaces, so there are always an
even number of glass surfaces in any glazing unit.

It is important to correctly identify the glass surface number because decorative or

energy efficient coatings are applied to the glass based on the surface number. In
addition, the coating can have a different appearance or may function better on certain
surfaces. For double-pane insulated glass units, coatings are usually added to surface
#2 and surface #3 so that the coating is "inside" the unit, which protects if from damage.

Single Pane - Glass Surface Numbers

Double Pane - Glass Surface Numbers

Triple Pane - Glass Surface Numbers