Solar Control and Passive Low‑e Glasses
Glass is one of the most popular and versatile building materials used today, and it provides a dramatic aesthetic. But the beauty of glass is pointless if the people inside the building are uncomfortable or if energy inefficiency makes the building too expensive to operate.
Low-emissivity (low-e) glass coatings were developed to minimize the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through glass without compromising the amount of visible light that is transmitted. A microscopically thin transparent coating allows low-e glass to reflect exterior heat in warm temperatures and hold in heat during cold temperatures, making buildings light, bright and energy-efficient.
Over the past 60 years, Solarban® glass and its precursors have been at the forefront of multiple groundbreaking advancements in glass performance, becoming one of the most trusted and proven solar control, low-e glasses that grace countless COTE® award-winning and LEED® certified buildings and structures.
Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG glass) offers two types of low-e coated glasses: Solarban® solar control low-e glasses and Sungate® passive low-e glass.
Solarban® Acuity® Series
With the Solarban® Acuity® Series, you can upgrade from coated clear glass for just a fraction of the total installed façade cost.
Solarban® AviProtek® E Bird‑Safe Low‑e Glass
The partnership between Walker Glass and Vitro provides a bird-safe glazing solution while saving energy.
Solarban® 60 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
Solarban® 60 glass features a color-neutral appearance that is available on clear glass, Starphire® glass or any Vitro tinted glass for an array of aesthetic choices.
Solarban® 60 Optiblue® Solar Control Low‑e Glass
With its soothing, neutral, cool blue-gray appearance, Solarban® 60 Optiblue® glass (formerly Solarban® z50 glass) brings a distinctly different aesthetic to the Solarban® family.
Solarban® 65 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
Solarban® 65 glass is engineered to offer superior energy efficiency and meet today’s stricter energy codes and sustainability goals, while offering a clear, color-neutral look.
Solarban® R67 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
Solarban® R67 glass (formerly Solarban® R67 glass) combines excellent solar performance with a soft, neutral coating that provides a crisp, clean and brilliantly clear exterior appearance.
Solarban® 70 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
Backed by a coating trusted by architects for more than a decade, Solarban® 70 glass (formerly Solarban® 70XL glass) balances VLT and solar control.
Solarban® 70 Optiblue® Solar Control Low‑e Glass
With its cool blue-gray appearance and high visible light transmittance, Solarban® 70 Optiblue® glass (formerly Solarban® z75 glass) controls glare while offering superior solar control.
Solarban® 72 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
Solarban® 72 glass builds on the advances of Solarban® 70 glass to provide even greater transparency with minimal sacrifice of performance.
Solarban® R77 Solar Control Low-e Glass
We asked architects what they wanted. The answer: a neutral-reflective low-e glass with reflectivity higher than that of Solarban® R67 glass but lower than Solarban® R100 glass.
Solarban® 90 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
The latest evolution in solar control low-e glass, Solarban® 90 glass conveys a neutral appearance similar to clear glass in both color and reflectance.
Solarban® R100 Solar Control Low‑e Glass
A neutral-reflective low-e glass with an excellent solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.23 and visible light transmittance (VLT) of 42 percent.
Sungate® 400 Passive Low‑e Glass
Sungate® 400 glass is a highly transparent, passive low-e glass designed specifically for use in heating-dominated climates.
Sungate ThermL™ Glass
Vitro’s new U-value enhancing low-e coating enables superior thermal performance without changing the visual characteristics of the IGU because of its colorless and low-reflective aesthetic.
How Low‑e Glass Works
Passive and solar control low-e coatings can help achieve critical solar and thermal performance objectives. Learn about low-e glass and how it works in the Vitro Glass Education Center.