Tips
Types of window glass
The type of glass that fills your window or patio door frames plays an important role in protecting your home from weather, aids in your home's energy efficiency, and can add style to your home. There is a type of glass for nearly every climate, location, and situation. Learn the differences between types of glass and the available options.
%3Afill(transparent)&w=2000&q=75)
Have you heard window glass called insulated or tempered? You might wonder what they are or why the difference is important. Each glass type is manufactured with different capabilities and features, making one type better than another in a particular spot. Learn common types of window glass and what they do best.
Common window glass terms
Annealed glass (aka standard glass) is slowly cooled to make glass more durable and less likely to break.
Tempered glass is glass that goes through a heating or chemical process to increase its strength. When shattered, tempered glass breaks into small, dull pieces. Windows and doors near walkways often must use tempered glass to meet building code for safety purposes.
Laminated glass is a type of safety glass that holds together if shattered. A clear, thin polymer interlayer holds the glass together.
Decorative glass is glass that has patterns or designs. Decorative glass designs help obscure views in and out of the glass to create privacy for spaces like bathrooms. Decorative glass can also refer to tinted glass.
Tinted glass is a type of decorative glass that has a thin, slightly colored layer between the glass panes. Tinted glass is popular in climates that experience long periods of direct sunlight. Tinted glass has tinted interlayers to make the glass tinted.
Sound Transmission Class (STC) and Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class (OITC) glass are designed to reduce sound going through the glass. STC/OITC glass has additional thickness to dull outdoor noise.
Double glazed is another way of referring to double paned windows. Double glazed or double-pane windows often include an inert gas between the panes to help with energy efficiency. Double-pane windows are the most common type of window.
Safety glass refers to glass designed to resist shattering into jagged edges. This reinforced glass is commonly found in doors, skylights, and windows. Tempered glass and laminated glass get called safety glass because they don’t break into sharp pieces like annealed (standard) glass.
Insulated glass has two or three glass panes separated by a spacer bar. An inert gas like argon usually fills the space to provide insulation between the panes. The inert gas can help with a window’s U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC).
Infinity glass types
Infinity windows typically feature two panes of insulated annealed glass with a metallic coating and gas fill for energy efficiency. We offer a variety of tinted glass and decorative glass that feature designs to provide privacy and style. For peace of mind and better living, we offer tempered or laminated glass that can reduce outdoor noise, offer safety, and meet building code compliance. All our glass options come with your choice of metallic, or also known as Low-E, coating best suited for your climate.
Insulated glass
Infinity uses two panes of glass and fills the space between the panes with argon gas to provide insulation. Argon gas is a non-toxic, colorless, and odorless gas that is heavier than air. Argon reduces heat transfer to serve as an insulator. The spacer bar keeps the glass panes separated and seals in the gas.
Tempered glass
We have tempered glass, commonly referred to as safety glass, because it breaks into small, dull pieces. Tempered glass is approximately four times stronger than annealed glass of the same thickness. Tempered glass commonly gets used for home windows, patio doors, and many other places, like stove tops and smartphones.
The International Residential Code requires tempered glass in hazardous locations, like:
Fixed or operable window glass larger than 9 square feet
Areas within 24 inches of a doorway
Windows with the bottom sill less than 60 inches above the floor
Windows within 36 inches of where people walk
Laminated glass
Infinity also offers laminated glass, which is a type of safety glass that holds together if shattered. A thin polymer layer applied to the glass holds the glass together if broken. Laminated glass can appear in patio doors.
Energy Efficiency
How glass impacts home energy efficiency
Our Low-E glass has a microscopically thin, transparent metallic coating to help keep your home comfortable year-round. E stands for emissivity, which is a material’s ability to radiate energy. The number following the “E” indicates the number of metallic layers. Infinity windows and doors have four choices of Low E coatings. The metallic coatings can appear on annealed, tempered, laminated, and our tinted glass.
Infinity Low-E glass options are below:
Low E1 glass glazing works best in colder climates because it allows more heat in to warm a room while blocking heat loss.
Low E2 glass glazing reflects heat in the summer and retains heat during the winter, making an ideal choice for moderate climates. Our Low E2 blocks 84% of the sun’s UV rays to reduce color fading.
Low E3 glass glazing works to reject solar heat while still allowing light to enter. It's a great option in climates that experience intense sunlight. Low E3 glass will block up to 95% of UV rays.
Low E3/ERS provides maximum efficiency year-round in all conditions. It features an additional room-side metallic coating.
Tempered vs. Low-E glass
Tempered glass and Low-E glass are two different types of glass, but they can co-exist as well. Tempered glass is annealed, or standard glass, that has undergone tempering to strengthen it. Tempering involves heating and cooling the glass to make it stronger. Low-E glass refers to low emissivity glass, which aids in energy efficiency. Low-E glass receives a thin, metallic coating designed to reflect heat. You can choose tempered glass with a Low-E coating to enjoy the benefits of stronger glass with energy efficiency properties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most consider tempered glass the strongest type of glass, but several combinations of tempered glass exist that can provide similar strength. Tempered glass appears in impact-resistant glass, hurricane glass, and laminated glass, too.
The safety properties of tempered glass make it a good choice and often a requirement in certain areas of a home. Laminated glass can provide additional safety because an interlayer can hold broken glass in place. Tempered and laminated glass can also have tint and metallic coatings best suited for your climate to make it the best window glass for your climate.
Choosing the best window glass for your home can come down to where you’re replacing windows and the type of window or patio door you’re replacing. Tempered glass is the best window glass in certain areas because of safety considerations and is required in specific places.
Tempered and laminated glass are considered the toughest glass for windows. Both have additional strength, compared to annealed glass. Laminated glass differs from tempered glass because it has a clear, thin polymer interlayer that holds the glass together if broken.