Environmentalists and city officials have been calling for a reduction in carbon emissions through energy efficiency and conservation.  The installation of thermal facade insulation and reflective glass windows are effective in achieving both those objectives.  Thermal insulation is an important element of energy conservation. It helps keep commercial buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Properly installed, thermal insulation lowers utility costs and cuts energy consumption.  Reflective glass windows allows optimal light into the workspace, while reducing glare from the sun.  When combined with solar-controlling Low-E coating, this glass can reflect incoming radiant heat energy to keep your HVAC costs low.  Low-E glass stands for low emissivity.  Low-E glass is clear glass that has been treated with an invisible metallic oxide coating. The coating is invisible to the naked eye. While the coating is thin, it creates a surface that reflects heat and blocks UV light, while allowing light to pass through.

Facade Insulation

Thermal insulation reduces heat loss in colder climate seasons, and protects against heat increases during warmer months across the building envelope.  This has been a recognized energy conservation strategy for many decades.  Materials available for use as building insulation include naturally occurring fibers and particles, man-made fibers, reflective systems, cellular plastics, evacuated systems, aero-gels, and hybrid insulation that combine two or more types of insulation.

A major objective in the design and operation of buildings is to maintain occupant comfort without incurring significant energy use. Particularly in narrower-plan buildings, the thermo-physical properties and behavior of their facades are often an important determinant of internal conditions.  Building facades, including both insulation and reflective glass windows, are being, developed to adapt their heat and mass transfer characteristics to changes in weather conditions, number of occupants and occupant’s requirements and preferences. Both the wall and window elements of a facade can be engineered to harness solar energy for photovoltaic electricity generation, heating, inducing ventilation and daylight provide varying levels of thermal insulation and energy storage.

Reflective Glass Windows

When heat or light energy is absorbed by glass, it is either shifted away by moving air or re-radiated by the glass surface. The ability of a material to radiate energy is known as emissivity. In general, highly reflective materials have a low emissivity (Low-E) and dull darker colored materials have a high emissivity. All materials, including windows, radiate heat in the form of long-wave, infrared energy depending on the emissivity and temperature of their surfaces. Radiant energy is one of the important ways heat transfer occurs with windows. Reducing the emissivity of one or more of the window glass surfaces improves a window’s insulating properties.