A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Right Glass for Your Windows and Doors

ROPO as a leading manufacturer of premium windows and doors, we understand the importance of selecting the right glass for your home or commercial space. Glass is not just a functional element but also plays a crucial role in energy efficiency, safety, and overall aesthetics. we will provide you with valuable insights and tips on how to choose the perfect glass for your custom windows and doors.

When you buy windows and doors, it's not just the windows & doors style and colour of the frame to consider. Think about any problems you experience in each room of your house and we have a different glass that can help to improve this.

The right specialist glass for each room will optimise your home to make a significant difference to the comfort and enjoyment of your living spaces.

1. Energy Report

You can get the right glass for your windows and doors according to your house energy report.

2. UV Protection

Protect your interiors from harmful UV rays by choosing glass with UV protection. consider opting for Low-E glass and Laminated glass.

3. Safety and Security

Glass is a superior material, but windows, doors and large expanses of glazing can be lethal to a person if they break upon impact from accidental collision. For this reason, we recommend laminated glass. 

4. Noise Reduction

If noise pollution is a concern, your house is closed airport, block, heavy tracffic road, etc. you can choose the soundproof windows. the specialist glass works by using two different thicknesses of glass and has a sound dampening PVB layer sandwiched between one of the panes. This combined effect of different surfaces and thicknesses disrupts the energy of the soundwave and reduces noise transference. The laminated pane of glass also has the added benefit of reducing up to 99% of harmful UV, helping to protect furnishings and fabrics from fading.

5. Aesthetic Appeal

Explore different glass finishes, tints, and patterns to enhance the visual appeal of your windows and doors. Frosted glass, tinted glass, or decorative patterns can add a touch of elegance and uniqueness to your space.

6. Maintenance and Durability

Choose glass that is easy to maintain and durable. Some glasses may require specialized cleaning or maintenance routines, so it's essential to consider your lifestyle and maintenance preferences when selecting the right glass.

Low Emissivity (Low-E) Glass

This type of Low-E coating keeps away solar heat from outdoors while allows good natural lighting indoors. In winter, it prevents indoor heat from getting out of room through the glass so as to conserved building energy.

Low Iron Glass

Low-iron glass is a type of high-clarity glass that is made from silica with very low amounts of iron. This low level of iron removes the greenish-blue tint that can be seen especially on larger and thicker sizes of glass.

Toughened Glass

Toughened glass is used wherever additional safety is required, and that includes any area where there is a risk of serious injury should the glass break. Large glass partitions, glass doors, in bathrooms, tables and shelves are just some of the applications for toughened glass.

Laminated glass

Laminated glass is made by sandwiching a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) layer of thin plastic between two panes of annealed glass and fusing them together. The interlayers work to support and hold the glass to create a strong, uniformed layer even when broken. Laminated glass comes in varying thicknesses and can be created using different glass combinations or coatings to provide different qualities, such as low emissions or increased insulation.

Obscure Glass

Obscure glass (sometimes called privacy glass) allows you to have more privacy in a room but without the need for blinds so you can retain the natural light.

Toilets, bathrooms, glazing in a front door facing a road or a bedroom overlooked by a neighbour can all benefit from privacy glass.

Technically, there are two types of obscure glass. Acid-etched has a frosted appearance which can be applied as a solid frost or in a pattern. Textured glass is formed in the production line when a piece of molten glass is pressed into a pattern mould. Once cooled, the glass retains a tactile pattern. Depending on the pattern, the glass can still have some level of visibility through it or can be fully obscured.

Acoustic Glass

Acoustic glass is specialist glass installed in noise reduction windows that can reduce the transference of sound and noise through the glazed window.

Acoustic glass mainly reduces noise by using different surfaces and thicknesses to disrupt the energy of the soundwave. Although it also works through a combination of:

The thickness of the glass

Asymmetric thicknesses of glass to disrupt the soundwaves

Argon gas between the panes

Depth of gap between the panes

Sound dampening laminate between panes

A window with specialist acoustic laminated glass can reduce noise by up to 40db.

Inside a glazing unit, panes of glass are separated with a spacer bar and wrapped with a bitumen seal that maintains an airtight unit. Under the spacer bar is a desiccant that absorbs any moisture to reduce humidity inside the unit. If you do have condensation on the inside panes, this indicates your seal has failed and the unit needs replacing.

A double-glazed unit has two panes of glass and four faces of glass. A triple-glazed unit has three panes of glass and six faces of glass.

In an individual unit, different panes of glass can be used. For example, Low-iron glass, toughened glass, laminated glass or obscure glass.

The panes of glass can also have coatings applied to specific glass faces. For example, Low-E coating.

By combining glass and coatings in a glazed unit, we can create specific windows to meet different needs for each room in a house.

To optimise the windows for your home, the first stage would be to make a sketch of your house that plots where your windows are.

Use a compass so that you can map the direction rooms and windows are facing.

Then think about other factors that can have an impact:

Is there noise from a road or from neighbours?

Do you have a room that contains antiques or paintings you want to protect?

Have you had to replace a carpet or furniture due to fading?

Is security an issue for a secluded side of the house?

Do you have small children or pets that you want to protect?

Are there rooms in which you want extra privacy for?

Do you often have to close the curtains in a room to keep it cool?

Do you have a room that is a cold spot in the house that you avoid?

Would you like to decorate a window to make it stand out?

Once you have mapped out your windows and thought of any special requirements, you can plan the specialist windows required for each room.

By assessing your house and considering the different glass for each window, you can dramatically improve your home's energy efficiency and climate control. Cold rooms can reduce their energy bills by retaining more heat and rooms that overheat can be kept cooler, making all living spaces more efficient.

Significant savings can be made by reducing the fading and discolouration of furnishings and floors. And, the right glass can make your home more secure from intrusion and safe from accidents.

ROPO dedicate to custom windows and doors solutions more than 16 years. Contact us today to get right glass for Your Aluminum Windows and Doors, uPVC Windows and Doors.