TECHNOLOGY I MATERIALS
Thin glass updates
While glass is seen as a viable substrate for solar and PV applications the industry often approaches such technical options from the limited view of their own needs not realising that technology that may assist continues to move forward in creating thinner and more flexible glass. The advances made in this area will directly translate to providing the solar and PV manufacturing future needs.
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ncreasingly tighter requirements on heat insulation by law and constantly increasing energy prices are driving forward the trend towards triple glazing in architecture. A constructive opportunity to counter the associated increased weight of glass is presented by the use of thin glass.
Glass is an ideal material for application in building shells. The transparent material can be used in a variety of applications and – irrespective of the type of finishing – fulfills individual functions. Modern insulation glass offers reliable heat insulation and solar protection, prevents high noise pollution and also, if required, corresponds to the highest safety levels. In addition, individual design highlights can also be achieved through the use of glass. The elementary functions of glass products in the building shell also include heat insulation. In view of the increasingly tighter legal requirements placed on architectural heat insulation and the rising energy prices, in recent decades the glass industry has been continually further developing its products and has achieved considerable improvements in efficiency.
Increasing requirements The limits of physics can, however, not be overcome even with the use of perfected glass formats and highly functional coatings. In the case of double (insulation) glazing, which has been used over decades, the limit has already been reached with a heat transfer co-efficient (Ug-value) of 1.0 W/m2K. To satisfy the current heat insulation requirements by law, this value is absolutely sufficient, but not for future requirements. According to the European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - EPBD), which came into force in 2010, as early as January 2021, only “nearly zero-energy-buildings” are to be erected in the private construction sector, in other words buildings, which require almost no external energy supply. For new buildings, which are used by the authorities as the owners
The trend towards triple insulation glazing and ever larger units is leading to high glass weights and placing greater requirements on the installation team. Photo: Messe Düsseldorf
on an owner-occupier basis, this requirement will already apply two years earlier. As poorly insulated existing buildings account for a large part of high building energy consumption, here too the minimum requirements for heat insulation applying to new buildings have to be satisfied for larger restoration projects and new extensions.
In order to fulfill the expected high requirements placed on energy efficiency in buildings, insulation glazing will also have to achieve even better results in future. The glass industry is therefore increasingly relying on triple insulation glazing. With
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