Two Ways Low Emissivity Glass Can Make Your Life More Eco-Friendly
A relatively recent innovation in window technology, low emissivity glass allows homeowners to take advantage of all the benefits of natural lighting without any of the risks and downsides that often come along with letting the sunlight into your home. Here are two ways that you can make your overall lifestyle more eco-friendly simply by adding this high-tech class to your windows.
1. Reducing damage to curtains, upholstery, and other belongings
The sunlight that comes through your windows carries with it some UV rays--if your windows are made of regular glass, that is. If you use low emissivity glass instead, you can ensure that your windows will block these UV rays. This is important because the sun's UV rays, along with some other types such as ultraviolet rays (which low emissivity glass also blocks), are a big factor in fading and otherwise damaging your furniture, upholstery, and other belongings. Now you may be thinking that this isn't really an eco-friendly benefit, despite being a monetary benefit and a big bonus for you. However, the faster your belongings are damaged (whether by fading from sunlight or something else), the sooner you will replace them with new items, which increases demand for manufacturing and uses up the earth's natural resources. So basically, protecting your household from the damage and fading can help you reduce your ecological footprint overall.
2. Reflecting heat off the glass
Low-emissivity glass doesn't just prevent fading; it also helps reduce the amount of energy you need to use to keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter. It does this by reflecting the heat back into your home in the winter when it's trying to escape the windows and by reflecting the sun's heat back away from your home in the summer when it tries to get in. This can significantly increase the insulation value of your windows, allowing you to spend less money on heating and cooling. Not only does it save you money, though, it also saves energy and reduces the effect that your home's temperature has on the surrounding environment.
As you can see, this glass is not just a choice that adds value and safety to your home (low-emissivity windows don't shatter out as easily as normal windows), but also one that can help you achieve your eco-friendly goals and reduce the negative impact you have on the Earth from day to day.