Did you know that Low-E glasses can reduce your energy bill? If you find your heating or cooling bills too high, your windows could be the culprit!
In fact, 25% of heat losses are attributable to fenestration products. With Low-E glass windows, you can recoup almost 10% on your heating costs. During the winter, this glazing allow the sun’s rays to pass through while in the summer, they filter the light, but block the heat coming from various external sources.
What Is Low-E Glazing
The “e” in Low-E refers to emissivity. It is therefore understood that Low-E glazing is low emissivity glass. But what is emissivity?
“The relative power of a surface to emit heat by radiation: the ratio of the radiant energy emitted by a surface to that emitted by a blackbody at the same temperature”
Source: Merriam-Webster
Therefore, the lower the emissivity (close to 0), the more insulating the material is in terms of radiation.
Low-emissivity (Low-E) glasses therefore have a better ability to reflect the sun’s energy. Thus, we keep the heat of the sun outside in summer while keeping it inside in winter. Thanks to this membrane, LOW-E glazing becomes three times more efficient in terms of radiation emission than standard glass.
The principle is similar to that applied to thermos glasses. Thermos windows have a silver coating that reflects heat. The design of these windows also gives them insulating properties to maintain the interior temperature.
The Perfect Windows for the Canadian Climate
In Canada, optimizing energy expenditure becomes complex with large temperature variations. Very hot summers and very cold winters. How to prevent heat from entering during summer while letting it in winter?
Low-E glasses are the best solution to adopt. In winter, low-emissivity glazing maximizes heat gain from solar radiation. Thus, the need for artificial heating is reduced by taking advantage of passive solar heating. It is therefore the ideal window for cold climates.
But that’s not all! In summer, thanks to solar control technology, Low-E lenses
limit the amount of solar energy that passes through. This maintains a colder interior temperature without increasing the air conditioning.
Advantages of Low-E glasses
Reduction in energy losses
Low-E glazing can reduce energy loss by 30–50%. No more exorbitant heating or air conditioning bills. You optimize your comfort while saving in the long term.
Better Thermal Insulation
Low-E glazing helps maintain comfortable interior temperatures while reducing the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling. Low-E windows can save you up to 30% in energy costs per year.