The term Low-E gets thrown around quite a bit when talking about replacement windows.People ask for Low-E windows,but the term is a bit vague at best."Low-E"literally means low emissivity,which in turn means a surface that emits low levels of radiant heat.All surfaces reflect,absorb,and transmit he -at.So,a Low-E coating reduces the amount of that heat transfer.When talking about replacement win -dows the term Low-E really applies to the glass being used.
Low-E glass is made by applying a thin coat of metallic particles to the glass.The most efficient typ -e of Low-E coating is called a"soft coat low-e".With the soft coat type,the metal is applied to the glas -s in a vacuum chamber so that an even and consistent coating is achieved.In that type of constructio -n the coated face of the glass is on the inside of a double-pane unit.This way the coating cannot be touched or scratched in any way.The Low-E coating has been made not only to reduce heat transfer, but to also stop UV radiation waves while still letting in visible light.
All Low-E coatings are not the same!Even within the loweglass1 last few years there have been adv -ancements and improvements to the coatings and the processes.At the base of the matter a good Low-E reflects heat back to the source.Just keep in mind that when someone says a window is Low-E, they mean that the glass in the window is good at reflecting heat.To see how well a window does this, check the ratings.At Glass-Rite we're proud to display our ratings and values of our windows because the efficiency of our product is hard to beat!The best way to compare different Low-E glasses is to look at their U-Value and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient numbers.
