Summer is coming, and everyone wants to have the best quality glass windows for their home comfort. Today, Tempe Glass has something to say about the principles of designing energy-efficient glass windows. Hopefully, this information will be helpful to those who do not understand how solar design in glass windows really works.

We design home glass windows that are intended to collect and distribute solar energy in ways that make your presence at home more comfortable. In winter, our glass windows operate as an instrument of solar energy collection. In summer, you will see how our glass windows reject sunlight to make it cooler inside. This is actually what specialists at Tempe Glass call ?passive solar design?: we have a good command of solar physics laws and use them for your benefit and our profitability and success.

Take a step back to your school years and think about the fundamental law of physics: heat moves from a hotter to a cooler object. The goal of this movement is to achieve the right balance of temperatures: heat energy will move between the objects until their temperatures are equal. Passive solar design of our glass windows makes use of the same principle: with the help of conduction and convection, we guarantee a sustained balance of temperatures within your house every day, irrespective of the season and weather outside.

More often than not, our glass products reflect the basic principles of physical conduction, when heat affects solid matter molecules, making them vibrate. Professionals at Tempe Glass know that it is through these vibrations that materials transfer heat. Remember what happens to you when you place yourself into a hot bath tub: your body becomes hot and your skin goes red! Each molecule of your body vibrates, accepting the heat from the bath tub water. In a similar way, our glass windows are designed specifically to transfer the outside heat to make your house warmer during cold winters!

Indirect gain: What is it? In the previous blog, we spoke about the benefits and principles of direct gain. However, passive solar design is not limited to it. Indirect gain is just another element of the passive solar design game, and we at Mesa Glass are willing to tell more about its benefits and strengths. Unlike direct gain windows, where energy from the sun comes directly through the window and is absorbed by the interior constructions, such as floors or walls, indirect gain windows operate through an energy storage located between them and the interior. For example, many specialists in the glass industry use a Trombe wall consisting of a 8-16 inch masonry material, always on the southern side of the house. This is critical, since most sunlight energy comes from the south. This is why we always tell our customers that, when designing their homes and windows, they should be extremely considerate with the choice of the location, climate, and home design. Using a masonry wall on the south side of the house is a good solution to many energy problems that emerge on a daily basis. With a Trombe wall on the southern side of your house, you will have a dark surface absorbing the sunlight and a mass of wall material keeping this energy to get it back into the living space, when there is no sun.

One of the major benefits of indirect gain windows is that the mason wall used in it releases the energy from the sun several hours. However, we at Mesa Glass cannot ignore the fact that indirect gain windows are difficult to manage in home and business buildings that have been completed. Certainly, indirect gain windows and walls present a perfect solution to many energy problems, but only at the stage of design. This is why we recommend that our glass professionals and your construction agents work together to create a perfect home for you!

When you are building a new house for your family, you certainly want the best for yourself. This is why you ask questions and seek professional answers. The question of glass is no exception, as you want to know what types of glass, windows, and doors will best suit your needs. We at Gilbert Glass often get calls from our current and prospective customers, who want to know the difference between transparent and opaque glass, as well as the benefits and weaknesses of both. This is why we decided to devote some time to the discussion of these issues.

In order to understand how opaque glass differs from transparent glass you should first learn the principles of glass physics. We have already talked about conduction, and here we must turn our heads to convection. The latter is the way heat moves through gases and liquids. For example, warm air is usually above the air which is cooler: this is one of the basic laws of physics you learn at school. Likewise, heat moves through the window glass, and professionals at Gilbert Glass know that the quality of windows and your comfort at home greatly depends on the way glass transmits heat. This is where the difference between transparent and opaque windows comes into play.

All opaque objects, including glass, do not transmit more than 50 percent of heat and light. Some opaque objects absorb as much as 95 percent of energy and solar radiation. The darker the opaque glass window the more solar radiation it will absorb. So, if you are looking for a sun-absorbing window, use dark opaque glass that will leave all solar energy beyond your premises. For example, in industrial manufacturing units opaque glass can become a real savior and a perfect protection against overheating.

By contrast, transparent glass absorbs only 10 percent of solar radiation, transmitting the rest into the house. Once transmitted, this solar radiation is re-transmitted again by the interior surfaces in the form of infrared radiation. Yet, transparent windows are the best solution for homes, and you can choose among different energy-efficient varieties of glass, to meet your comfort demands. Gilbert Glass is always at your disposal!

Passive solar design: how does it work? It?s a common question, but not all, even the most experienced, glass professionals can provide a good answer to it. As of today, specialists at Tempe Glass know a variety of passive solar design techniques that can enhance the quality and comfort of any window. In this post, we want to talk about the so-called direct gain, which is believed to be one of the simplest and common energy-efficient techniques of window design. Really, we think that direct gain is one of the best passive solar design techniques ever created in the glass industry. In direct gain windows, usually made of transparent glass, the warmth of sunlight comes into the house. It should be noted, that direct gain windows usually face south. We at Tempe Glass believe that this is one of the best ways to make any house more energy-efficient. Once inside, the sunlight energy hits the floor, usually made of a dark well-absorbing material. The floor fulfills a complex function to absorb the energy coming through the window. At night, or in darkness, the floor will convert and radiate this energy back into the room.

Apparently, passive solar design is not limited to windows, and we at Tempe Glass have learned that windows can become energy-efficient, only when they are part of a broader design solution, e.g., floors and walls. You cannot be sure that your passive solar design windows work appropriately, if you fail to use appropriate materials for your walls and floors. If you simply wish to improve the energy efficiency of your home, use water-filled containers inside the living space to absorb, convert, and radiate the energy back into the room. Make sure the glazing area is large enough to let more sunlight energy in. Ask specialists at Tempe Glass about the most ideal thermal mass ratio for your climate. We will not forget to insulate the thermal mass from the outside climate, so that the heat you get from the sun does not drain away from your house.

Just a week ago we spoke about the role which the glass recycling industry plays in the development and sustained efficiency of the entire American economy. Really, glass is a unique and universal material that can be fully recycled without any difficulty. However, it appears that not all world countries have sufficient resources to meet their glass recycling goals. Moreover, many developed countries lag behind U.S.?s unprecedented glass recycling achievements. Mesa Glass has learnt that Europe experiences considerable difficulties trying to expand its glass recycling industry and make it more efficient. In 2010, glass recycling rates in Europe stopped at 68%. The same year, some 25 billion glass bottles were collected in the countries of the European Union, but only 80% of them were later reprocessed. Mesa Glass has also found that different countries of Europe display different rates of glass recycling: for example, Belgium has the highest glass recycling rates (96%), while Germany does not process more than 81% of its glass. However, even this is not as bad as the 45% recycling rate in Finland.

The main question is what should be done to improve glass recycling rates in Europe and how the United States can help the EU to improve its environmental conditions and reduce the damage caused by glass waste to the nature. Unfortunately, specialists at Mesa Glass do not know anything about glass recycling programs developed in the U.S. for Europe. Most probably, there are none. Europe is a well-developed region, both economically and industrially, which means that European countries possess sufficient economic and financial resources to promote the message of glass recycling and its ?green? implications. Of greater importance is the way new EU members deal with their glass recycling programs. It is no secret that countries that used to be members of the U.S.S.R. may not view the glass recycling problem as significant and worth attention. However, without glass recycling, there is no circular economy, and the EU and U.S. should become more attentive to the glass recycling problems faced by different countries.