PITTSBURGH, Oct. 13, 2020 – Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) announced that it donated windows made with Solarban^® 70 solar control, low-emissivity (low-e) glass to a team of students from Weber State University (WSU), which constructed a net-zero-energy home for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2020 Solar Decathlon^®.

The school’s team chose Solarban^® 70 glass after researching its benefits and determining that its cost-saving features and increased efficiency would offer the best solution for meeting the project’s budget and energy-efficiency demands.

“It was important to us to make our selections as practical as possible for other homeowners to adopt on their new construction or window replacement projects,” said Jeremy Farner, a professor of building design and construction at WSU, who guided the team. “Working with our window supplier, we determined that Solarban^® 70 glass was the best solution to achieve that goal.”

Focused on managing “true cost of home ownership,” Weber State’s prototype home was designed to nearly eliminate energy bills for occupants. Solarban^® 70 low-e glass helps cut energy costs by transmitting high levels of daylight into a home, which limits the need for artificial lighting, and by blocking the sun’s solar energy to reduce air-conditioning load.

A standard ¾-inch residential insulating glass unit (IGU) with Solarban^® 70 glass and conventional clear glass offers visible light transmittance (VLT) of 63% and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.27, meaning the glass keeps more than 70% of the sun’s heat energy from entering a building. Lighting and temperature control are two of the largest energy consumers in a home.

The windows for the WSU project, which were placed in the main room, basement and garage, were supplied by AMSCO Windows in Salt Lake City. The home’s construction was completed earlier this year and it was opened for public tours in the university’s hometown of Ogden, Utah this summer. The residence is now for sale.

Since 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® has hosted 10 contests open to collegiate student teams that design and build highly efficient buildings powered by renewables and solar technology, while optimizing for key considerations including affordability, resilience and occupant health.

To learn more about Solarban^® 70 solar control, low-e glass or order sample kits, visit vitroglazings.com/products/low-e-glass/solarban-70-glass or call 1-855-VTRO-GLS (887-6457).

About Vitro Architectural Glass

Vitro Architectural Glass, part of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:VITROA), the largest company of its kind in the Americas, manufactures a range of industry-leading, energy-efficient products such as Solarban^®, Sungate^® and Starphire Ultra-Clear^® glasses at U.S. plants in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Fresno, California; Salem, Oregon; and Wichita Falls, Texas. Committed to sustainable manufacturing processes and products, the company also operates one of the world’s largest glass research and development facilities in Pittsburgh and four residential glass fabrication plants in Canada. Upholding the values of “Together, We See Further” across the architectural, automotive and containers markets, Vitro strives to realize the power of partnership to ensure that projects meet or exceed ever-evolving sustainability expectations as well as glass requirements. For more information, please visit www.VitroGlass.com.

Media Contact:
Robert J. Struble
Vitro Architectural Glass
412-820-8138
rstruble@vitro.com
www.vitroglazings.com