Solar control glass is a hi-tech product developed by the glass industry to allow sunlight to pass through a window or façade while radiating and reflecting away a large degree of the sun’s heat. The indoor space stays bright and much cooler than would be the case if normal glass were used.

Pilkington Activ Suncool™ combines excellent solar control with a range of optical performances to improve the aesthetic appearance, energy efficiency and occupier comfort of a building, as well as self-cleaning properties.

Absorbing Solar Control Pilkington Automotive has long been a market leader in body-tinted glass compositions. Optikool™ and EZ-KOOL® are green, optimised solar absorbing glasses, providing significant improvement to occupant comfort.

Pilkington Eclipse Advantage™ is a range of high performance solar control on-line coated clear or body-tinted glass, with unique colours and low-emissivity properties.

Pilkington Suncool™ is a range of solar control off-line coated products used in insulating glass units. The coating is designed to reflect the short wave solar radiation.

In hot conditions or for building with high internal loads, solar control glass is used to minimise solar heat gain. It allows sunlight to pass through a window or façade while radiating and reflecting away a large degree of the sun's heat.

Pilkington SuperGrey™ is the best solar control of any uncoated glass, providing the lowest shading coefficient of any float glass and a better shading coefficient than many reflective glass products, unsurpassed light and glare control, improving visual privacy and reducing the need for blinds or shades,

Tinting the glass is only one method of achieving solar control. Pilkington Optifloat™ tints tend to reduce the light transmission with the solar control. Another option is to use Pilkington Suncool™ coated products and the Pilkington Eclipse Advantage™ range.

Control of the sun's heat can be achieved in a number of ways. The most popular is by using a coloured glass such at the Pilkington Optifloat™ Tint range or Pilkington Arctic Blue™ which simply reduce incoming heat transmission. A similar effect can be achieved using a sandwich of glass with a tinted interlayer Pilkington Optilam™ I Colour.

Cobalt and nickel, ferrous and ferric iron, cerium and titanium are all used to control transmission of infrared or ultraviolet waves to differing degrees and with differing visual effects. Coatings on the glass are another way of modifying the solar control properties.