Nippon Sheet Glass Co. has developed multilayer glass with thermal insulation which is 15% better than conventional glass.
The new glass is based on the company“s Spacia ST evacuated glazing glass, …
Nippon Sheet Glass Co. has developed multilayer glass with thermal insulation which is 15% better than conventional glass. The new glass is based on the company“s Spacia ST evacuated glazing glass, which has a void between two panes of glass and a tin oxide film on the surface of one of the sheets to reflect heat rays. The new product, Spacia ES, replaces the tin oxide with a special silver-based metallic film to increase the percentage of infrared rays blocked by 30% to 80%. The company expects Spacia ES to produce savings on annual air conditioning expenses of 10% compared to Spacia ST and 44% compared to single-pane windows. The company plans to begin marketing Spacia ES in January-February 2003. Because it can be used in conventional aluminum sashes, Nippon Sheet Glass expects demand for the new glass for use in new single-family home and condominium construction and as a replacement for single-pane glass. The new glass will cost 20% more than its predecesor at around JPY 30,000 per sq. meter, and the company expect first-year sales of JPY 1 billion (USD 8.47 million). The new product is one aspect of the company“s strategy to switch to high-value-added products to offset soft demand for construction-use glass.