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Glass buildings are beautiful, but…

Glass buildings are beautiful, but…

Glass buildings are beautiful, but…

Glass buildings have dominated the modern skyline, and more individuals are incorporating glass into their residential designs. But what is the environmental impact of a building’s high glass content, and how does it affect the building’s occupants?

A study conducted by the Urban Green Council in 2013 has some of the answers to those questions, and the results are interesting to say the least.

According to the study, which involved residential 55 buildings in New York City, people invariably chose a residential space because of the amount of glass, but about 60% of any given window was covered with blinds, shades or some other form of window treatment. Three quarters of the buildings in the study had at least half of their windows covered, regardless of the time of day, or the direction the window faced.

Based on its finding, the Urban Green Council made some design recommendations for new construction. They included designs that eschewed the floor-to-ceiling glass, and substituted two to three feet of insulated wall space along the floor – the coldest area in an enclosed space.

In addition, the Urban Green Council recommends better communication about the overall impact of floor-to-ceiling glass in terms of energy consumption. Well insulated windows (triple-pane) have an R-value of about 3, which compares to the insulating ability of corrugated cardboard. Low-e glass is comparable or even superior to triple-pane, gas-filled glass, but it still offers an R-value of less than 5. The more glass you put in a room, the less energy-efficient the room will be.

There are things you can do to control the way heat is gained and lost by glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint could be one potential solution when you’re looking for both privacy and style. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior UV protection, which means that it won’t chip, fade or peel, even when exposed to direct sunlight.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint and how it can help you control light and heat in your space, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Ricard Liberato, via Flickr.com