The glass acts practically as a magical material in the construction industry. Glass is used in construction since ancient times. Due to technological advances in recent years, many different types of glass are used to change the architectural view.
Tinted glass is one type of glass which provides a colourful look to a structure. Unlike float glass which is colourless, tinted glass is available in different colours. They are used very much in residential as well as commercial structures. Here we have given information on tinted glass, types of tinted glass, pros and cons, which homeowners must know before buying glass for their houses.
Tinted Glass
The body-tinted glass is a float glass in which melted colourants are added for tinting. Coatings of various metal oxides are applied on the surface of float glass to produce a tinted glass. It is available in various shades such as green, blue, bronze, brown, grey, black, etc.
Tinted glass reduces the glare of light entering the room and provides a comfortable environment. Different colours, absorb some amount of solar heat, thus less heating of room occurs as compared to normal glass or float glass. It also increases the aesthetics of a building by providing vibrant and colourful look. It is an important architectural element for the exterior appearance of façades.
Oxides of various metals are mixed to impart different colours to the glass. Here are few metals, which give specific colours, upon addition.
| Metal (which is added in oxide form) | Colours Produced |
| Iron | Green, Brown, Blue |
| Chromium | Green, Yellow, Pink |
| Cobalt | Blue, Green, Pink |
| Copper | Blue, Red, Green |
| Nickel | Yellow, Purple |
| Manganese | Purple |
| Carbon, Sulphur | Brown, Amber |
There are two types of tinted glass available depending upon the method of coating; On-line coating and Off-line coating.
Online Coating:
This type of coating is done when the glass is in the molten state and is on float line for the cooling process. It is also called active coating or hard coating. As the glass is in the molten state, the coating fuses with the glass very tightly.
Offline Coating:
An offline coating is done after the glass is manufactured. The coating is applied in vacuum chambers at room temperature. It is also called passive coating or soft coating. Offline coated tinted glass has less resistance to scratches as compared to online coated tinted glass.
The pros and cons of tinted glass are as follows:
Pros/Advantages:
- Tinted glass provides privacy and reduces the glare of the light entering the room, and provides a comfortable environment.
- As they are available in various different colours, they provide striking visual effect and increase the architectural view of the structure.
- It allows less solar heat to penetrate as compared to normal float glass and thus helps in reducing air conditioning costs up to some extent.
- They also block some amount of UV rays, unlike float glass which allows penetration of UV rays.
- It can be easily used in the form of tempered glass, laminated glass, safety glass, and insulated glass units.
- Tinted glass can be made reflective from the exterior by coating it with a silver oxide layer. Reflective tinted glasses are very commonly used in glass facades of business centres, as they provide privacy to the interiors of the structure.
- It can be combined with low e glass to give attractive look along with thermal insulation properties.
Cons/Disadvantages:
- It is expensive as compared to float glass.
- In countries where the temperature in summer is very high, tinted glass can break due to high thermal stress. Thus it has to be heat strengthened before using, which is an expensive option.
- The vision from a tinted glass is not as clear as observed from a clear glass. Depending on the colour, the clarity is reduced. For example, view from grey tinted glass is much less as compared to the view from green tinted glass.
- The intensity of colour changes with respect to the thickness of the glass. Intensity increases with thickness, thus for big commercial projects, it is essential to buy tinted glasses of the same thickness.
Applications:
By mixing different colours, attractive look of a structure can be created by using tinted glass in glass facades. For rooms which are exposed to sunlight for a maximum time, tinted glass can be used in windows to reduce the glare. Tinted glasses are also used in automobiles in the form of laminated glass. It is used in doors, windows, glass partitions, spandrel, etc.