Vacuum insulated glazing from Guardian Glass opens up a world of opportunities

The technology has already proved successful in commercial refrigeration, but other applications are emerging across multiple industries.

Guardian Vacuum IG™ takes two glass panes and seals them airtight. A vacuum is created in the space between the two fully tempered glass panes, which are held apart by almost microscopic pillars. The vacuum eliminates any fill gases and all associated conduction and convection losses through the gas, resulting in a significant reduction in heat loss from the glazing unit.

Compared to standard triple insulating glass units* (IGUs), Guardian Vacuum IG is thinner and lighter, it has a better thermal insulating performance, a higher light transmission and a lower reflection. The thermal insulation performance of Guardian Vacuum IG remains the same regardless of the angle at which it is installed (from vertical to horizontal).

In addition, Guardian Vacuum IG is fully tempered, which makes it suitable for use where appropriate safety standards need to be met.

Success in refrigeration

Guardian Vacuum IG was first deployed in retail refrigerator doors where it creates an optimal shopping experience by providing excellent, uninterrupted views of refrigerated goods.

Greg Kemenah, Director Guardian Vacuum IG comments: “The Guardian Vacuum IG solution from Guardian is groundbreaking in terms of glass innovation. Vacuum-sealed glass units with low-E coatings can achieve thermal insulating performance of R-12 (Ug equivalent value is 0.47 W/m2K)** with a profile that is only 8.3mm thick. This results in an insulating glass unit that is 75% thinner, has 33% less weight and exceeds the performance of triple-pane, low-E glazings*.

With building codes becoming more stringent, Guardian Vacuum IG will enable a world of possibilities for other applications emerging across multiple industries, in particular, windows. In the United States, Guardian Vacuum IG is now also available for new builds and windows’ retrofit.

Guardian Glass will showcase its latest innovations, including a new dynamic shading solution, at BAU – Hall C3 / Stand 308 (14-19 January 2019 – Munich, Germany). www.guardian-possibilities.com.

* standard triple insulating glass units used in refrigeration are made of 4 mm float glass – 12 mm spacer 90% argon – 4 mm low-E glass (coating on surface #3) – 12 mm spacer 90% argon – 4 mm low-E glass (coating on surface #5).

** R and Ug values according to NFRC 2010.