Mirror double-glazed windows. Types and possibilities

In cases where the windows are not decorated with curtains and blinds, the problem of excess penetration arises. sunlight And increased attention from passers-by. This problem can be avoided by installing reflective and tinted glass. Glass, treated to prevent excessive light transmission and prying eyes, differs only in cost and production technology.

Reflective double glazed windows (spy)

They are performed by applying a thin layer of metal oxide to the glass, which prevents partial penetration ultraviolet radiation into the room and gives the glass a reflective effect. He retains this function bilaterally. In addition to good light penetration protection, glass has the property of partially saving thermal energy.

Tinted double-glazed windows with films

Tinted glass, like reflective glass, serves as light protection. For this purpose, ultra-thin polymer films are used. At the moment, there are many types that have a combined tinting principle - mirror, shockproof, energy saving, giving different shades glass

Tinted glass units in bulk (bottle effect)

These glasses do not have a coating or tinting film, and the solid glass itself is made with color additives. Such double-glazed windows are mainly used only to reduce the passage solar energy into the room, but their toning effect is not significant. Since all reflective coatings and glass with films have a mirror effect, such glasses were developed for use in the exterior and interior without such an effect. The most common colors are bronze and blue.

Double-glazed windows with a matte surface.

Its main distribution frosted glass received in bathrooms, meeting rooms or in furniture making.

These glasses come in four types:

1. "Satin". The most common and economical glass. The haze is imparted to glass by treating the glass with acid. It transmits light very well and, in comparison with other methods of frosting glass, is a leader among such glasses due to its strength and capabilities. This glass can be not only monolithically frosted, but also with a frosted pattern.
2. "Creset".. Glass with relief patterns. Such glasses were very common in the 20th century, although they are still in demand today. Before the advent of "satin", "kreset" had a large number of patterns, but over time, due to a decrease in demand, only one or two patterns remained in use.
3. “Sandblasting” The haze is achieved by treating the glass with sand. The sand accelerates air flow and is directed into the glass, then the sand particles knock out the glass chips, giving the glass a dull finish. This method has a disadvantage, since due to the knocking out of glass particles, it becomes more fragile than “satin” or “creset”
4. "Smart" glass. These are the most advanced technologies in making glass haze. “Smart” translated from English means smart. In short, such glass becomes frosted when the electricity is turned off, and transparent when turned on. This effect is achieved due to nanoparticles that are located between two glued glasses (triplex). Without the supply of energy, the particles are in a chaotic state and when looking at the glass, a matte effect is visible, and when electricity is connected to the glass, an electromagnetic field is formed, which aligns the particles strictly with their end facing our view and, due to their small end area, the glass becomes transparent. The disadvantage of such glass is still the price and electricity consumption.

Do you need tinted and reflective windows and who needs them?

If we ignore “smart” glass, then the use of glass with a reflection effect is advisable and even necessary for interiors that do not involve shading with curtains and blinds. These can be shopping and entertainment centers, offices, apartments and houses with panoramic glazing. The cost of a double-glazed window does not exceed the cost of a regular one by more than 10%, which allows you to save on the purchase of curtains or on the repair of a constantly fading interior.

Pros and cons of tinted and reflective coating:

• Reflective and tinting coatings are easy to use and do not interfere with the interior compared to blinds.
• Compared to blinds, they reflect the sun's energy much better and do not heat up like aluminum slats of blinds in the summer.
• No maintenance required.
• Wide variety of colors. The variety of colors in films is not only huge, but it is also possible to choose them with different percentages of solar energy reflection, environment and darkening the room.
• The downside is that when the lights are on inside the room at night, everything will be visible from the street. But this is significant if the windows are low to the ground.
• An important advantage is additional sound insulation due to tinting films, and also increases the impact resistance of such glass.

In summer, solar thermal energy increases significantly and the natural heating of the room with the help of heat rays increases. An excess of solar energy indoors, in addition to discomfort for humans, carries with it the following Negative consequences, such as fading of furniture, other interior elements, etc. The scorching rays of the sun warm up not only the air in the room, but also the external structures of the building, which leads to constant stuffiness both day and night. Staying in the room will be significantly difficult and will turn into torture for a person. This problem can be solved plastic windows with solar control glasses that reduce the transmission of solar radiation in the entire spectrum of wavelengths or in part of it.

I would like to note that cooling, unlike central heating, requires large energy costs.

Glass is classified according to production technology reflective, tinted And multifunctional glass.

By mechanism of action sun glasses can be divided into 3 groups:

1. Mostly reflective radiation - reflective glass (StopSol). The production of such glasses is characterized by the application of a thin metal layer to the surface, which prevents radiation from penetrating glass.

Reflective (solar) glass- reflective glass with a special metal oxide coating, which is applied pyrolytically to one of the glass surfaces during its production.


Reflective glass is designed for additional protection premises from solar ultraviolet radiation and creating the effect mirror surface. During the daytime, a “mirror” effect will be observed with outside and a “tinted” effect when viewed from inside the room. IN dark time days, the optical properties of reflective glasses are “inverted”, that is, when the indoor lighting is turned on, the “mirror” effect will be observed from inside the room. In other words, reflective glass reflects light in the direction where there is more of it. Reflective glass is installed in a double-glazed window with either external or internal glass coating inside the double-glazed window. If the reflective glass coating is oriented towards the street, then a colorless mirror is observed from the street side, but if the reflective glass coating is facing the inside of the room, then a tinted mirror is observed from the street side.

Reflective spraying “works” due to changes in lightening, so in the evening you can observe a “mirroring” effect indoors. With the same level of lightening inside and outside the room, the glass will have a tinted effect.
To achieve mirror effect at night, for example in office or banking premises, additional lighting must be installed on the glass outside.

Thermal reflective glass enhances the reflection infrared rays(from 50 to 80%), while transmitting up to 70% of visible light.

1. Mostly absorbing radiation - tinted glass. In the manufacture of absorbent glasses, either metal crystals or metal oxides, which have ability to absorb part of solar radiation. At the same time, the glass heats up and releases most of the heat it receives to the outside space. Some of the heat, however, is transferred indoors, which is, of course, an undesirable phenomenon, increasing the energy requirement for cooling the room. Tinted glass reflects infrared rays (from 30 to 60%), while transmitting at least 65-80% of visible light (depending on the thickness and color of the glass).

Tinted glass(tinted glass) - is a colored glass with a reduced light transmittance. Tinted glass is a decorative solar control glass. Its main purpose is to give the building an aesthetic appearance. Tinted glass has a very good visual perception. It looks transparent colored glass. As the thickness of colored glass increases, its shade changes. Visually this manifests itself in the fact that thin glass has more light shade, thick - much darker. From an aesthetic point of view, decorative effect thicker and, accordingly, darker glass is better. The thickness of the glass must be taken into account in cases where it is necessary to achieve color uniformity. For example, when glazing building facades.
Tinted glass has high light absorption properties. Compared to clear glass, solar control glass always absorbs light better and transmits light worse. It absorbs visible and infrared rays from the solar spectrum, but remains transparent enough to visible light. By absorbing the sun's rays, the glass heats up and transfers some of the heat into the room. In summer this creates some inconvenience, since the room heats up and necessary high costs for its conditioning. Therefore, in the windows and façade structures, which are on sunny side, it is recommended to install solar reflective glass.

Tinted windows reduce light transmission in both directions without creating a “mirror” effect. Installed in a double-glazed window with external glass.


Film tinting is carried out by gluing PVC tinting films to the surface of the finished glass. Huge color palette films allows you to get exactly the shade that is needed. Glass with a film applied to it becomes injury-proof.


Pros: creation of stable mirror and metallized surfaces, strengthening of glass, low cost.

The downside is the labor-intensive production of tinted coatings and lack of resistance to strong external mechanical influences. How to distinguish glass tinted in the mass from glass tinted with a film? For glass tinted in the mass, the end also has the color of the main glass mass, and for glass tinted with a film, the end is either greenish (when tinted with a film of ordinary transparent glass).

Photochromic glasses (“chameleons”, heat-absorbing)


Photochromic glasses change color under the influence of radiation: they darken when illuminated, and in the absence of intense lighting they become colorless again. Such glass is used to protect heavily glazed buildings from the sun, to maintain constant illumination of rooms, as well as in transport. Photochromic glasses contain boron oxide B2O3, and the photosensitive component is silver chloride AgCl in the presence of copper oxide Cu2O. When illuminated, the following process occurs:
AgCl - → Ag 0 + Cl 0
The release of atomic silver causes the glass to darken. In the dark, the reaction proceeds in the opposite direction.

1. Fully reflective surfaces – multifunctional glass. They are obtained by sequentially applying a coating to the surface of the glass. Typically, the number of coating layers is five, of which four are metal oxide layers, and the fifth working layer consists of silver. Silver has the ability to transmit visible light, just like regular glass. In the case where the wavelength is greater than 0.76 microns, silver almost completely reflects all radiation. In addition, such glasses also have good thermal insulation properties. Such glasses also absorb part of the infrared solar radiation, but heat up much less, and their lighting characteristics depend little on the thickness of the sheet.

Thanks to sun protection glasses in summer the room is not so hot, the contrast and brightness of illuminated objects is less. As a result, eye fatigue is reduced and people are less tired.

When purchasing solar control glass, you must remember that the distortion of the colors of objects viewed through it should be minimal.

Solar control glazing is more expensive than glazing with clear and low-e glass, but these additional costs are offset within one season of operation by reducing the cost of air conditioning.

The use of mirrored double-glazed windows is perfect for you if you want to protect your premises from prying eyes, while still seeing everything that is happening outside. The process of replacing mirrored double-glazed windows is practically no different from replacing standard ones. At the same time, double-glazed windows with mirror coating perform additional functions to retain heat and give aesthetic appearance your home, office or apartment.

The Mos Windows Service company has been debugging the process of manufacturing and installing mirrored double-glazed windows for more than 12 years. Our specialist in replacing mirror glass units will consult you for free and help you choose a glass unit with the necessary properties and suitable color.

Advantages of mirror glass units

• Content protection indoors from prying eyes
• Absorption of sunlight without blocking the penetration of heat. Savings on air conditioning
• Blocks ultraviolet radiation
• Give spectacular appearance room
• Long service life reflective double glazed windows

Types of mirror glass units

Mirror double-glazed windows are manufactured using two technologies:

Applying a mirror film to a glass unit

The fastest and cheapest way is to install a mirror film on the glass. This allows you to save on the production of double-glazed windows with mirror coating. In this case, you can choose the color shade and the required throughput films. This method is not particularly durable; the film is susceptible to fading and scratches.

Double-glazed window with mirror coating - reflective glass

The most durable among mirror glass units. Manufactured according to modern technologies by applying a thin layer of metal oxide to the surface of the glass. This method allows you to protect the glass unit from mechanical influences, increases the sound insulation of the glass unit as a whole and extends the service life of the mirror glass unit. In addition, reflective glass can absorb or reflect the sun's rays, thereby retaining or preventing excess heat

Examples of mirror glass

Price for replacing mirrored double-glazed windows in Moscow

Each specific type of glass must perform a very specific function. There are five main functions of glass:

• soundproofing
• thermal insulation in summer
• thermal insulation in winter
• protective functions
• aesthetic functions

Strained glass

Tempered glass is obtained by additional heat treatment. Compared to conventional annealed glass, it has increased thermal and mechanical strength, which is ensured by the internal stresses that arise during glass tempering.

Externally, tempered glass is no different from ordinary glass, but this glass cannot be subjected to any further processing or cutting because it is destroyed when the outer layers of the glass are damaged. When broken, tempered glass breaks into small rounded fragments that do not have sharp cutting edges and are therefore safe for others.

Tempered glass used for increased safety requirements for windows and doors.

Dot-dyed glass

Dot-dyed glass is absorbent (solar-protective glass) glass, in the manufacture of which we use various substances to obtain the desired color. It absorbs more solar thermal energy and light than normal clear glass.

The most common are gray and green colors, as well as intermediate between bronze and brown. It is also possible to produce glass in other colors. It is used in the manufacture of glass facades, partitions, windows and doors.

Laminated glass (Triplex)

Triplex is a multilayer glass with a polymer film or a layer of special resin located inside. At mechanical impact(impact, shot) the glass is destroyed, but the fragments remain firmly adhered to the intermediate layer, so it is safe for others. Laminated glass can be bulletproof, and triplex also has improved sound insulation properties.

The main task of a triplex is to prevent violent intrusion. Lamination does not increase the mechanical strength of glass; however, when destroyed, laminated glass remains<целым>thanks to laminated film, i.e. glass shards remain attached to the film.

Different types Laminating films can provide almost any glass tinting.

Wired glass.

Wired glass - sheet glass with metal mesh, safe and fire-resistant, which in the event of a fire forms an effective barrier against smoke and hot gases. In the event of a fire, it may crack, but the reinforcement holds it in place, thereby preventing the spread of fire.

Glass shards do not fall out even when several breaks form, but are held in place by reinforcement. Wired glass can be used for glazing factory floors, windows, skylights, elevator shafts and facades.

Patterned glass

Patterned glass is sheet glass, one surface of which has a decorative treatment. It happens different colors, drawings, various thicknesses(4-6mm), may have different light transmittance. Patterned glass can be tempered and laminated. It is mainly used for internal glazing and in the manufacture of stained glass.

Reflective glass (solar control)

Reflective glass is reflective glass with a special metal oxide coating. The coating is applied pyrolytically to one of the glass surfaces during the production process. Solar control glass is designed to additionally protect premises from solar ultraviolet radiation and create the effect of a mirror surface.

For example, glass that is colored throughout the glass, as well as some types of glass with coatings, are sun-protective.

According to the mechanism of action, sunglasses can be divided into 2 groups:

• predominantly reflecting radiation.
• predominantly absorbing radiation.

The surface of group 1 glass is characterized by a thin metal layer applied during the production process, which prevents the penetration of radiation through the glass. It should be noted that the reflective layers simultaneously partially absorb radiation.

In the manufacture of absorbent glasses, either metal crystals or metal oxides, which have the ability to absorb part of solar radiation, are applied to the molten glass mass. In the process of absorbing radiation, the glass heats up and releases most of the heat it receives to the outside space. Some of the heat, however, is transferred indoors.

Designs that combine reflective and low emissivity coatings are a new product coming to market. Fully reflective surfaces of transparent glasses are obtained by successively applying a coating to the glass surface. As a rule, the number of coating layers is five, of which four are layers of metal oxides, and the working layer is silver. Silver has the ability to transmit visible light, just like regular glass. In the case where the wavelength is greater than 0.76 microns, silver almost completely reflects all radiation. In addition, such glasses also have good thermal insulation properties.

In microfilter glasses, microprism-shaped areas are created on the surface of the glass by etching or sandblasting. Using silk-screen printing, you can get areas that work in almost the same way. What they have in common is that only part of the glass surface is processed. When performing the operation of applying a pattern, the position of the sun above the horizon is taken into account so that the angles of the microprisms work at the minimum angle of encounter with thermal solar radiation. When the angle of incidence of solar radiation becomes smaller, the proportion of reflectivity increases. In appearance, microfilter glasses differ little from ordinary glass.

Energy saving glass

Energy saving glass- glass with a special coating that selectively reflects infrared rays, i.e. tolerate heat. Since the coating consists of very thin layers sprayed onto the surface of the glass, the transparency of the glass to visible light changes only slightly. Such glass reflects infrared (thermal) radiation back into the room and is therefore widely used to improve the thermal insulation properties of windows.

Giving energy-saving properties to glass is associated with applying low-emission optical coatings to its surface, and the glass itself with such a coating is called low-emissivity. These coatings allow short-wave solar radiation to pass into the room, but prevent long-wave thermal radiation from leaving the room, for example from heating device Therefore, glasses with low-emissivity coatings are called “selective glasses”.

Currently, two types of coatings are used for energy-saving properties: the so-called K - glass (Low-E) - a "hard" coating and i - glass (Double Low-E) - a "soft" coating.

The soft coating gives the glass better heat-saving properties. But it is not resistant to moisture, so it cannot be long-term storage V open form. In addition, when installing glass with soft coating required for double glazing optional equipment, since it is necessary to remove the coating at the gluing site.

Hard-coated glass does not have these disadvantages, therefore, despite the worse energy-saving characteristics, such glass is much more often installed in double-glazed windows.

Comparative characteristics double-glazed windows depending on the type of energy-saving glass from various companies

From the article you will learn:

Just a few years ago, mirrored windows were a rare phenomenon, found exclusively in big cities, in the windows of expensive hotels or premium restaurants. They sparkled beautifully, reflecting people passing by, and reliably hid what was happening inside the room from prying eyes.

Today, such windows have ceased to be a curiosity and are found quite often not only in commercial premises, but also in the private homes of ordinary citizens. The technology for producing mirrored plastic windows is not very expensive, and therefore beautiful and practical designs are becoming more and more popular.

Windows with mirror glass look very impressive - they immediately attract attention and highlight the building (or part of the building) against the general architectural background. It is for this reason that such windows are used to decorate the facades of nightclubs, shopping and entertainment centers, sports complexes and other premises that need to be visible.

In addition to the spectacular appearance given to the building, mirrored windows increase the comfort of the room, retaining the overwhelming mass ultraviolet rays, but allowing natural daylight to pass through well. The reflective effect of the mirror surface is useful in hot weather - it prevents the room from overheating, allowing you not to use air conditioning and saving energy consumption.

Glass for mirrored windows are created today using two technologies:

1. By gluing a mirror film of the desired degree of transparency onto the glass surface.
2. Vacuum deposition of a layer of metal oxide (titanium) onto one side of the glass.

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Glass produced by different technologies, have individual characteristics and properties that are worth considering in more detail.

Plastic windows with mirror film

Windows with mirror film installed in residential premises much more often than sprayed structures. They reliably protect against sun rays and unsolicited glances, are inexpensive and accessible to almost any working person. The film is easy to apply, and therefore windows of this type are quickly made to order even by small glass factories.

Mirror film can have different transparency, which allows you to regulate the amount of daylight entering the room. Less transparent windows are installed in regions with a hot summer climate - they allow you to maintain an acceptable room temperature even in sweltering heat.

In addition to protection from prying eyes and the hot sun, mirror film also performs other useful functions:

• prevents fading of interior items in the room and prevents eyes from getting tired from too bright lighting;
• allows you to save energy by maintaining the indoor microclimate well;
• makes the window safer, increasing its strength and preventing fragments from scattering in the event of destruction (parts of the glass remain on an adhesive base).

Windows with mirror film can be used in almost all domestic areas: residential buildings, in offices, shops, schools and other public institutions.

Mirror coated glass are called reflective and have some features that are not characteristic of glasses with a mirror film. Thanks to the application of metal oxide to the surface, the glasses become very durable - their resistance to mechanical damage significantly exceeds their capabilities. ordinary glass and products with film.

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Plastic windows with reflective glass can absorb up to 60% of the sun's rays coming from outside, but they do not retain heat rays (losses are less than 10%). Such properties allow excellent protection from bright sunlight, but do not prevent heat from entering the room. Just like windows with mirror film, structures with spraying are transparent only in one direction: from the inside you can see everything that happens on the street, and from the outside the glass looks like an ordinary opaque mirror.

Coated windows are divided into three types: reflective, absorbent and with combined properties.

Reflective windows– have good insulating properties, do not heat up in the sun and reflect its rays. Glass with a reflective effect is more expensive than its absorbing counterparts, so it is less often used in residential areas.

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