Advantages of Using Performance Glass in Renovation and Restoration
The United States has over 5.9 million commercial buildings, spending $200 billion annually on utilities and using nearly a third of the nation’s energy. While fewer than 15% of buildings built between 1920 and 1999 upgraded to low-e glass windows, over half of commercial windows today feature this energy-efficient technology. Low-e glass reduces heat transfer, cuts energy costs and improves sustainability. However, budget constraints and the need to preserve historic architecture often limit wider adoption.
Historic Preservation
Historic preservation is particularly important as it ensures the architectural integrity and cultural significance of a building are maintained. Upgrading windows in historic properties often requires careful planning to align modern sustainability efforts with traditional design elements and materials. While this can be a delicate balancing act, it is essential for protecting the unique character of these buildings while still improving their energy performance. Thoughtful solutions, such as custom-designed windows that replicate historic aesthetics while incorporating modern technology, can help bridge the gap between preservation and progress.
Glass Innovations
Vitro Architectural Glass has long been a leader in creating energy-efficient architectural glass solutions. Our advanced passive and solar control low-e glass combines outstanding solar control with high visible light transmittance (VLT), making it an excellent choice for renovation projects. These features help minimize energy consumption for heating, cooling and lighting in renovated buildings, improving both efficiency and sustainability.
We offer an unmatched selection of architectural glazing options tailored for renovations:
- Solarban® 60 glass is the industry’s original double-silver solar control low‑e glass.
- Solarban® 65 glass is an evolution of our renowned Solarban® 60 glass, meeting modern sustainability goals and stricter building codes while maintaining a clear, neutral look.
- Solarban® 70 glass (formerly Solarban® 70XL glass) remains the most proven, commonly specified triple-silver-coated low-e glass in the industry.
- Solarban® 70 Optiblue® glass (formerly Solarban® z75 glass) is a neutral, steel blue gray glass that offers superior daylighting and solar control.
- Solarban® Acuity® glass offers high energy performance and visual clarity at an affordable price.
- Solarban® 90 glass is the industry’s first quad-silver solar control low-e glass.
- Solarban® R100 glass is a neutral-reflective, low‑e glass that provides significant improvements in solar performance compared to competing products in the same architectural glass category.
These glasses can be paired with a variety of tinted and reflective options from Vitro Glass, allowing you to preserve the original color of your tinted windows or curtain walls while enjoying the benefits of advanced solar control glass.
Innovative Technologies Unlock Greater Energy Efficiency
Many buildings in need of renovation today were built 20 to 50 years ago with outdated materials like single-pane glass. Upgrading to modern, energy-efficient glazing can significantly cut energy use and operational costs.
A study compared two eight-story office buildings in three warm-weather cities. One used Solarban® 70 glass by Vitro, while the other used ¼-inch green-tinted monolithic glass. The results were striking: the building with Solarban® 70 glass reduced cooling costs by nearly $100,000 annually (15% savings) and cut HVAC equipment costs by over $500,000 (25% savings). Over 20–40 years, these savings could total millions.
Vitro Glass offers a range of high-performance products, including Solarban® solar control low-e glasses, Sungate ThermL™ U-Value Enhancing Low-e Glass, VacuMax™ Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) and Starphire Ultra-Clear® low-iron glass. These products can be combined in countless ways to deliver both the energy efficiency and aesthetics building owners need.
Take Renovations and Retrofits to the Max with VacuMax™ VIG
VacuMax™ VIG by Vitro is the ultimate in thermal glazing, delivering R-values up to R20, rivaling the performance of traditional walls. The unit’s slim construction and light weight allows it to be incorporated into virtually any traditional glazing system, window frame or curtainwall application, making it an ideal selection for renovation projects, like Harvard University’s Gund Hall, Lafayette College’s Markle Hall and the Pittsburgh Glass Center Expansion.