Feb 25 2009
PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) has shipped its 20-millionth square-foot of Solarban 70XL glass. Introduced in 2006 as the world’s first triple-silver-coated, solar control low-e glass, Solarban 70XL glass remains the industry’s highest-performing environmental glass as measured by light-to-solar gain (LSG) ratio.
Scott A. Follett, director of new products and services for PPG Performance Glazings, said the clear-glass aesthetics and environmental advantages associated with Solarban 70XL glass have made it a favorite among environmentally progressive architects. “Acceptance of Solarban 70XL glass is widespread in the United States and increasing around the world. We expect that trend to accelerate as sustainable building principles become part of international building design standards.”
To date, Solarban 70XL glass has been specified for thousands of buildings, encompassing projects with less than 1,000 square feet of glass as well as towering skyscrapers featuring hundreds of thousands of square feet of glass. Notable installations include Bank of America Plaza in Charlotte, N.C., City Center Plaza in Seattle and RBC Centre in Toronto. More than 170 new projects in the United States alone, totaling another seven million square feet of Solarban 70XL glass, are currently slated for construction.
Thanks to a proprietary, triple-silver coating developed by PPG, Solarban 70XL glass transmits 64 percent of the sun’s light in a standard one-inch insulating glass unit, while blocking 73 percent of its heat energy. That produces an unprecedented LSG ratio of 2.37.
According to independent energy-modeling studies, the glass can reduce annual cooling-related energy costs by more than $100,000 (or up to 13 percent) when it is specified instead of dual-pane tinted glass in a standard, window-walled, eight-story office building. According to the same study, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning requirements in the same building are reduced by $400,000 (up to 20 percent), and carbon emissions are cut by nearly 500 tons a year – enough to offset the yearly emissions of about 100 passenger cars.
Gary Danowski, vice president, PPG Performance Glazings, said Solarban 70XL glass could play a critical role in the development of carbon-neutral buildings. “This product has become extremely popular for projects seeking to achieve LEED certification, including more than a dozen in just the last year,” he said. “Solarban 70XL glass is aesthetically versatile and fulfills the industry’s desire for products that reduce reliance on fossil fuels and make buildings, safer, healthier and more enjoyable places to work and live well into the future.”
Since PPG introduced Solarban 70XL glass in 2006, Danowski said, no other glassmaker has been able to match its overall performance for solar control and visible light transmittance. “That success is a tribute to the commitment and ingenuity of PPG’s glass scientists and engineers,” he said.
Solarban 70XL glass also is the newest and highest-performing product in PPG’s residential glass portfolio, enabling window-makers to provide premium, ENERGY STAR-approved products that reduce heating and cooling costs for homeowners. Because of its environmental benefits, Solarban 70XL glass was named a “green product of the year” by Architectural Record, and it has been honored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, the Carnegie Science Center and the Green Building Alliance.
Last fall, PPG announced that the triple-silver, low-e coating for Solarban 70XL glass is available on six of PPG’s most popular tinted glasses.