With spring in full swing and summer on the horizon, it’s important to start thinking about getting your home ready for the upcoming increase in temperatures. If you’re like most people, you want your home to be comfortable amidst the heat, but also to avoid spending a fortune on energy bills.

Did you know that certain types of glass feature a special coating between the panes that can significantly improve the energy efficiency of your home? Here at Omaha Door & Window, we offer Low Emissivity, more commonly known as Low-E, coatings on glass to help reflect heat and solar energy, reducing your need to crank the thermostat. In addition to the standard Low-E glass, we also offer Low-E UV glass, which is similar, but certainly has its differences. In this blog post, we’re explaining the differences between Low-E and Low-E UV glass.

Low-E glass has a coating of silver oxide that’s been sprayed onto the surface of the glass. The coating is applied in between the panes, so you don’t have to worry about scratching it. Low-E glass does a couple of important things:

1. Reflects emissive heat. Emissive heat is the heat that is generated once light hits a surface. For example, when sunlight hits concrete on the road and you look at it from a distance; you can see what looks like waves hitting the concrete. A similar scenario happens when heat hits Low-E glass, because approximately 70% of it bounces back in the direction that it came from. This means that in the summer, heat bounces back out and away from your glass, keeping your house cooler, and in the winter, the heat being produced inside your home bounces off the glass and back into your home, keeping your house warm. By reflecting the heat, you’ll be able to better maintain and control temperatures within your home.
2. Allows natural light in. Low-E glass will still allow a good portion of light and the majority of UV rays to travel into your home through the glass. While this may be a good thing for anyone looking to enjoy the natural sunlight, it can certainly have its downsides when it comes to maintaining conditions inside your home.

Low-E UV glass uses the same silver oxide as Low-E; however, it is just a thicker coating of it. With Low-E UV glass, you’ll still get the same reflective ability that regular Low-E has, but it will block out 30% more of the UV rays coming in through the glass. This will achieve two very important things:

1. Lower the amount of light coming in.
2. Lower the amount of solar heat gain.

Reducing the two items above will in turn reduce the fading of your carpet and furniture that’s normally caused by exposure to light and heat by about 23%! The only real downside to Low-E UV glass is that the glass itself will be slightly darker than standard Low-E glass alone – a minor visual consideration that is often outweighed by the positives.

Both Low-E and Low-E UV glass are great products and viable options to consider. Contact us today to determine which option is right for your home and your specific needs.