PPG introduces glass tints with second-surface MSVD low-e coatings

PPG Industries is introducing its most popular tinted glasses with Solarban 70XL or Solarban 60 solar control, low emissivity coatings on the second surface of the glass. The announcement coincides with the 125th anniversary of PPG Industries and marks the latest development from a company that has been on the forefront of glass innovation since its founding as the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. in 1883.

All PPG tints from the Oceans of Color collection, including Atlantica, Azuria, Caribia and Solexia glasses, as well as Solargray and Solarbronze tinted glasses, are now offered with Solarban 70XL or Solarban 60 solar control, lowe coating on the second surface of the glass. In addition to providing improved environmental performance, the availability of second-surface coated tints expands aesthetic options for architects and and building owners. The move also allows customers of PPG high-performance glass, members of the PPG Certified Fabricator network, to offer architects and building owners more products with superior energy performance. For the 125 years, since it became the first commercially successful glass company in the U.S., PPG has been an industry leader. The company’s legacy of innovation results from the development of many products and technologies that remain industry standards, such as:

• 1934 – Solex (now Solexia) glass, the first heat-absorbing, energy-efficient glass
• 1938 – Herculite glass, shatter-resistant tempered glass
• 1945 – Twindow glass, the first double-paned insulating glass
• 1962 – LHR (a Solarcool glass predecessor), the first heat-reflective glass
• 1963 – First U.S. manufacturer to use the float glass process
• 1983 – Sungate 100 glass, the world’s first low-e glass
• 1989 – Azurlite (now Azuria) glass, the first spectrally-selective blue glass
• 1990 – Starphire ultra-clear glass, still the clearest commercial float glass
• 2000 – Solarban 60 double-silver-coated, solar control, low-e glass
• 2001 – SunClean self-cleaning glass
• 2005 – Solarban 70XL glass, the first triple-silver-coated solar control low-e glass

Today, PPG is a recognized leader in green building products, not just through the development of environmentally progressive architectural glasses but also through its continued efforts to refine and enhance glass performance for solar power applications such as photovoltaic glass and large, solar-collecting mirrors. Vicki Holt, PPG senior vice president, glass and fiber glass, said that the company’s long history in the glass industry and its continuing commitment to research and development enables it to remain on the cutting edge of technological development.

“Many people think of glass as a commodity product, but when you consider its relative abundance, functionality and high-performance coating technologies, you begin to understand its value as a highly functional building material,” Holt said. “We’re already using highperformance glass to reduce the amount of fossil fuels our buildings consume, but we’re also learning how to produce glass with other critical properties and characteristics that will enable it to conduct a current, or collect and amplify energy from sources such as the sun. At PPG, we’re devoted to ensuring that glass achieves its full potential as a building product, as an energy provider and as an integral part of our future. In an independent study, buildings glazed with Solarban 70XL and Solarban 60 glasses were shown to have significantly lower energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and HVAC requirements than those glazed with dual-pane tinted glass and other less advanced glazings.