For Housing

Building with Self-Cleaning Glass

Whether you are an architect, builder, contractor, building owner or home-owner, you might want to consider installation of maintenance free, self-cleaning glass in your building plans.  Self-cleaning and low-E glass is energy efficient, saves time, reduces the cost of building maintenance and can be either ultra-modern or contemporary in design.

This glass is coated with titanium dioxide that is activated by the UV rays from the sun.  It takes approximately 5-7 days of light exposure for the glass to become fully active.  Organic dirt or material that adhere to the window panes is broken down through a chemical process  when water hits the surface.  The water doesn’t form into droplets but spreads out over the glass surface in an even sheet.   As the sheet of water flows off the glass it carries the dirt with it.  This coating also allows the glass to dry very quickly with less streaks or water tracks.

Natural daylight and rain or sprayed water breaks down the organic dirt and materials from outside elements.  This reaction is not the same, however, when a building is heavily exposed to inorganic materials such as salt or sand.   It still has the sheeting run-off action from the coating but not the chemical breakdown.  In other words these inorganic materials will be carried or washed off the glass in the same manner as they would on uncoated glass.

Regardless, as long as you have UV light and water, the self-cleaning glass is virtually maintenance free.  The sustainable coating lasts as long as the life of the window or glass without degrading over time.  It is very appealing especially for buildings or homes using large quantities of treated glass.

The Robson Square ice rink dome in Vancouver, BC and the Museum of Earth in Ithaca, NY are examples of building construction using maintenance free, self-cleaning glass.

Going Green