Satin-like, translucent glass manufactured by acid-etching one surface of the glass.
See SGG SATINOVO.
A special plastic interlayer incorporated into laminated glass in order to significantly reduce noise as well as providing safe breakage characteristics of the glass. See SGG STADIP SILENCE.
See ?Float glass?. During the float glass manufacturing process, the hot glass is gently cooled in the "annealing lehr", which releases any internal stresses from the glass to enable the cutting and further processing of the glass post manufacture.
Inert gas used to fill the cavity within a low-emissivity (low-E) double-glazed unit to further improve its thermal performance.
Codes of Practice offering guidance and recommendations on what is considered current best practice. Applicable to the whole of the UK and in most cases adopted by the Republic of Ireland.
The British Standards Institution.
Building Control legislation laid down by Acts of Parliament.
The cavity formed by the spacer bar between the two panes of glass in double-glazed units, is generally filled with air. The air can be replaced with argon for example, for enhanced thermal insulation.
CE Marking means that the product complies with essential requirements of the Construction Products Directive drawn up by the European Commission, and that the product can be used for the application intended. To learn more about CE Marking, you can visit the GEPVP (Groupement Européen des Producteurs de Verre Plat) Website at www.gepvp.org.
Abbreviation of decibel, the unit of measurement of sound.
Approved Document L of the Building Regulations for England and Wales relates to the conservation of fuel and power.
Glazing comprising two panes of glass for acoustic or thermal insulation.
Two panes of glass, separated by a cavity and hermetically sealed in a factory, to provide thermal insulation.
Emissivity is a surface characteristic of a material. It is the relative ability of a surface to absorb and emit energy in the form of radiation. Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings reduce the normally relatively high surface emissivity of the glass. The coatings are mainly transparent over the visible wavelengths but reflect long wave infra-red radiation towards the interior of the building.
European Norms or standards, which are gradually harmonising with and superseding British Standards.
Conventional double glazing provides thermal insulation. Double glazing comprising a low-emissivity glass provides enhanced thermal insulation.
The term used to describe the surfaces of the glass in numerical order from the exterior to the interior. The exterior surface is always referred to as face 1. For a double-glazed unit, the surface of the outer pane facing into the cavity is face 2, the surface of the inner pane facing into the cavity is face 3 and the internal surface of the inner pane is face 4.
The Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme, set up by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF), at the request of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in response to the current Building Regulations for England and Wales. See Document L.
High quality, transparent flat glass manufactured by means of the float tank procedure that is floating molten glass on a "tin-bath" at extremely high temperature. See SGG PLANILUX, SGG PARSOL.
Opaque and coloured glass produced by depositing and baking a highly resistant lacquer onto one side. See SGG PLANILAQUE EVOLUTION.
Two or more sheets of annealed or heat treated glass are separated by one or more plastic interlayers (normally PVB) and subjected to heat and pressure, in order to ensure perfect adhesion between constituent elements. See SGG STADIP, SGG STADIP PROTECT and SGG STADIP SILENCE.
The proportion of the visible light spectrum that is transmitted through the glass.
See "emissivity"
See "Sputtered coating".
See "Document L"
Translucent patterned glass, manufactured by rolling heat-softened glass between embossed cylinders. See SGG DECORGLASS, SGG MASTERGLASS.
Ability of a material to break down organic compounds on a surface using UV radiation. See "self-cleaning glass" and SGG BIOCLEAN.
Identified by BS 6262 part 4 and defined as glazed sections of a door, wall or other part of a building most likely to be subject to accidental human impact.
Property of glass with a photocatalytic and hydrophilic coating. The coating harnesses the dual-action of UV light and rain (or water) to break down organic dirt and reduce the adherence of mineral material. The glass stays cleaner for longer and is easier to clean.
See SGG BIOCLEAN.
A process used in the manufacture of mirrors, whereby a silver coating is applied to one surface of the glass. See SGG MIRALITE EVOLUTION.
Coated glass to reflect and/or absorb solar energy to prevent excessive heat gain. See SGG COOL-LITE.
The percentage of total solar radiant heat energy transmitted through glazing (the sum of energy transmitted directly and energy absorbed and re-emitted to the interior).
Generally an aluminium bar along all edges of a double-glazed unit, filled with desiccant, which separates the two panes of glass and creates a cavity.
An advanced metallic coating is applied to the glass "off-line" or after the float glass manufacturing process, by a technique called magnetically enhanced cathodic sputtering under vacuum conditions.
Double-glazed units provide thermal insulation. See also "enhanced thermal insulation" and "Document L".
Glass that has been subjected to a controlled heating and cooling process in order to significantly increase its resistance to mechanical and thermal stress. Through the thermal toughening process, the glass attains its safe-breakage characteristics.
This is a measure of the rate of heat loss of a building component. It is expressed as Watts per square metre, per degree Kelvin, W/m2K.
Refers to the reduction of the thermal bridging effect around the perimeter of double-glazed units by replacing the conventional aluminium cavity spacerbar with a low heat-conductive thermally insulating cavity spacer.
A scheme launched in 2004 by the British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC), to assess the whole window energy performance of a window including all the components that make up the window.
