'Reactive' glass for windows

[Mike4]

Hi chaps and chapesses,

The little 1980s corner house I use for my address these days (I live on my boat most of the time) faces south west, catches the sun and gets impossibly hot inside in warm sunny weather. Windows need replacing anyway so thought what i need is 'reactive' glass like I have in the driving spectacles. The brighter the sun, the darker they get.

Trouble, the eyes of window company reps just glaze over (see what I did there?) when I describe this idea and they start waffling on about how much heat their non-reactive glass keeps IN. This totally misses the point!

Has anyone seen such a product in the UK? Goggling brings very little up that isn't USA.

Many thanks for any advice....

[oldapple]

Mike

I got a few 'results' googling 'solar glass' - e.g. https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/solar-control-glass/ but no idea if they are good or not!

[stewamax]

...or Sonte Film http://sonte.com - sticks on to normal glass and can be manually controlled. Ignore brightness but think internal temperature and control with a CH-type thermostat.

[tjh290633]

As far as I know solar reactive glass has only been used for spectacles. The reactive constituent is probably silver and so would be rather expensive if you are melting 800 tonnes per day or so.

What is more likely to be practicable and economical is a layer of liquid crystal between two sheets of glass. This can then be made to swing between clear and obscure by suitable controls. Another possibility is a one way mirror

TJH

[Gaggsy]

Hi Mike4,

start your research here:
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/pro ... ar-control

gaggsy

[Slarti]

What is more likely to be practicable and economical is a layer of liquid crystal between two sheets of glass. This can then be made to swing between clear and obscure by suitable controls.

I've been in meeting rooms with windows like that where you have to make sure the lights are on before turning the knob on the last pane, otherwise you are in almost total darkness.

Probably not the sort of thing an ordinary double glazing company would do, but shop/office fitters almost certainly would.

The meeting room that was most impressive was about 30' x 20' x 15' high and all of the interior walls were like that.

Slarti

Moderator Message:
"k" added for the sake of decency. - Chris

[tikunetih]

Hi Mike4,

start your research here:
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/pro ... ar-control

gaggsy

I've used Pilkington Activ Blue in the roof glazing of a south-facing sunroom. The 'Activ' means self-cleaning while the 'Blue' is solar control. Being in the roof, the blue tint isn't much noticed.

If I was doing the project today I'd probably be looking at Activ SunShade, which is untinted and therefore suitable for both glazed roof and windows, and has a lower g-value (better solar control) than my Activ Blue.

No idea how much it costs. My stuff wasn't prohibitively expensive or anything. I'll be building another room similar to this in a few years time so will be looking again at this sort of stuff.


NB What sort of boat, Mike? Canal?

[richlist]

Have you thought about using an automatic electric sunshade on the outside windows. This works well in Spain.

[Mike4]

Thanks for replies everyone...

As often the case, finding out the name of what I need is often half the battle. "Solar control glass" seems to be it, thanks oldapple and Gagsy!

Stewamax, good idea about the remote control film, but I really want something to atop the house getting hot while I'm out at work if the sun comes out. Looks like I might have to go for something static given what tjh290633 says about sliver being the active constituent in spec lenses.

Slarti, I'm not sure making glass go opaque is actually gonna reduce heat transfer that much. This "G" value mentioned on the Pilks ,site seems to be the parameter that measures this.

Tikunetih, will read up on the Pilks Activ Shunshade, thanks. Glad you said about the lower G value being less transmissive, the Pilks site never actually says if higher value or lower value is better! And yes canal boats. I have... errr... three All with magnificent vintage diesels. Can we post vids here? I'll try one. My narrow historic boat REGINALD and the Gleniffer diesel inside...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at5mQ9V_W0k&t=10s

Or you might just have to click the link!!

[Mike4]

Oh and Rich, thanks for the suggestion, but I definitely want glass. awnings would make this house look plain silly!!

[richlist]

Don't think that the heat in the house after a hot day is only caused by the glass. The whole fabric of the building will transmit heat into the house and the best way to combat that is with insulation & ventillation.

[tjh290633]

Mike, transmission of heat from sunlight into the house is affected by the absorption coefficient of the glass in the infra-red. Solar control glass usually has a higher than normal content of iron, but ultraviolet can also be reduced by including cerium in the raw materials. Reflection from the surface is also a factor, so some coatings may help this.

TJH

[Mike4]

Don't think that the heat in the house after a hot day is only caused by the glass. The whole fabric of the building will transmit heat into the house and the best way to combat that is with insulation & ventillation.

Yeahiknow....

Thing is though, most of it seems to come in the windows as the house gets insufferably hot inside after only half an hour of sunshine. Hardly enough time to warm up the outer leaf of bricks in the cavity walls. I will however be getting the walls insulated too.

Ventilation is counterproductive as it is a 'quarter' format starter house surrounded by tarmac road surface and car park surface as far as the eye can see, which heats the outside air to phenomenal temps in the high sun too.

[sg31]

! And yes canal boats. I have... errr... three All with magnificent vintage diesels. Can we post vids here? I'll try one. My narrow historic boat REGINALD and the Gleniffer diesel inside...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at5mQ9V_W0k&t=10s

Or you might just have to click the link!!

That engine is manificent. I love the sound of it. Thanks for posting it.

[tikunetih]

Don't expect any miracles from the solar control glass. For windows (as opposed to the roof application I used Activ Blue for), I'd look first at using blinds, or ideally do both.

For solar control, light-coloured aluminium venetians work well. I've used these effectively for solar control in a southish-facing gaff that had extensive floor-to-ceiling glazing.

If you have plastic windows, then frame-fit (Perfect Fit, INTU, etc) blinds can be convenient, and come in different styles such as cellular, pleated or venetian, some with high insulation properties, usually for keeping room warmth in, but should also do a job keeping radiant heat out of the room.

[Mike4]

! And yes canal boats. I have... errr... three All with magnificent vintage diesels. Can we post vids here? I'll try one. My narrow historic boat REGINALD and the Gleniffer diesel inside...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at5mQ9V_W0k&t=10s

Or you might just have to click the link!!

That engine is manificent. I love the sound of it. Thanks for posting it.

Here's another of my engines if you're interested...

https://youtu.be/NscRRli5uXg

[Mike4]

Don't expect any miracles from the solar control glass. For windows (as opposed to the roof application I used Activ Blue for), I'd look first at using blinds, or ideally do both.

For solar control, light-coloured aluminium venetians work well. I've used these effectively for solar control in a southish-facing gaff that had extensive floor-to-ceiling glazing.

If you have plastic windows, then frame-fit (Perfect Fit, INTU, etc) blinds can be convenient, and come in different styles such as cellular, pleated or venetian, some with high insulation properties, usually for keeping room warmth in, but should also do a job keeping radiant heat out of the room.

Thanks for your comments. Using Venetian blinds hadn't occurred to me so thanks for that. The windows are currently wooden and not in great condition so I was planning to fit UPVC frames anyway. Choosing the right glass has been the hard bit - the customer-facing staff at DG companies are so difficult to deal with on a technical level so I might yet just have these frames painted and re-glazed, and put blinds on the inside as you suggest.

Having rooted about on the Pilks site a bit more, I have found what they call "Pilkington Suncool™ Dynamic powered by Suntuitive™ ", which seems to be exactly what I have been looking for. A glass that darkens in proportion to the amount of sun heat landing on it. Do you have any experience of this?
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/pro ... c#overview

My concern now is that a tiny order for this glass for a little house might not be accepted by Pilks. Looks to be as though this product might be for acres of office building glass....

[dspp]

Don't expect any miracles from the solar control glass. For windows (as opposed to the roof application I used Activ Blue for), I'd look first at using blinds, or ideally do both.

For solar control, light-coloured aluminium venetians work well. I've used these effectively for solar control in a southish-facing gaff that had extensive floor-to-ceiling glazing.

If you have plastic windows, then frame-fit (Perfect Fit, INTU, etc) blinds can be convenient, and come in different styles such as cellular, pleated or venetian, some with high insulation properties, usually for keeping room warmth in, but should also do a job keeping radiant heat out of the room.

Thanks for your comments. Using Venetian blinds hadn't occurred to me so thanks for that. The windows are currently wooden and not in great condition so I was planning to fit UPVC frames anyway. Choosing the right glass has been the hard bit - the customer-facing staff at DG companies are so difficult to deal with on a technical level so I might yet just have these frames painted and re-glazed, and put blinds on the inside as you suggest.

Having rooted about on the Pilks site a bit more, I have found what they call "Pilkington Suncool™ Dynamic powered by Suntuitive™ ", which seems to be exactly what I have been looking for. A glass that darkens in proportion to the amount of sun heat landing on it. Do you have any experience of this?
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/pro ... c#overview

My concern now is that a tiny order for this glass for a little house might not be accepted by Pilks. Looks to be as though this product might be for acres of office building glass....

If you are considering repainting & reusing the existing, then may I suggest the reflective window film solution, such as this:

https://www.windowfilm.co.uk/buy-online ... indow-film

or in roller blinds (not venetian blinds) such as this:

http://reflecta.co.uk/window-film-tinti ... ar-blinds/

I've successfully used both for solar gain control (that's your problem) in south facing window areas. You find these used a lot in Australia.

(nice old motors btw)

regards, dspp

[sg31]

Here's another of my engines if you're interested...

https://youtu.be/NscRRli5uXg

What a fantastic engine. Thanks for posting. My father used to love repairing old engines, those sounds bring back childhood memories.

[tjh290633]

Having rooted about on the Pilks site a bit more, I have found what they call "Pilkington Suncool™ Dynamic powered by Suntuitive™ ", which seems to be exactly what I have been looking for. A glass that darkens in proportion to the amount of sun heat landing on it. Do you have any experience of this?
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/pro ... c#overview

My concern now is that a tiny order for this glass for a little house might not be accepted by Pilks. Looks to be as though this product might be for acres of office building glass....

It seems to be a coating on the glass. No reason why a small order cannot be satisfied when they are having a run of this coating.

They may well have stocks of it, because they will not run it very often if they do it online.

TJH