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Our low-iron glass product:
Photos by Pete Eckert
Low-iron glass can help bring the wow factor to your architectural or interior design project.
View our low iron glass product
Mid-iron, low-iron, extra-clear, ultra-clear glass - what’s the difference?
Mid-iron and low-iron glass are types of float glass that have a reduced iron content, but to different levels, and are therefore clearer and more color-neutral than standard float glass, but also to a different extent, low-iron glass being the clearer and more transparent.
Guardian UltraClear™ low-iron glass offers outstanding clarity and an ice blue edge. You can compare its values with those of our Guardian ExtraClear™ mid-iron glass, particularly:
- the visible light transmittance %, or the portion of the visible light that passes through the glass
- the Color Rendering Index (CRI), which indicates how faithful the colors of an object seen through the glass are to its true color - 100 being the most consistent.
Studio Frank Weber
On the picture from left to right: Guardian UltraCear™ low-iron glass, Guardian ExtraClear™ mid-iron glass, and Guardian Clear float glass.
Size and thickness of low-iron glass sheets
Guardian UltraClear™, our low-iron float glass, is available in jumbo size (130’’ x 240” in the Americas, 3 x 6 m in Europe and Africa Middle East), and in thicknesses of 2.3 to 12 mm in the Americas, and 3 to 15 mm in the other regions.For more information on the product, go to the product page.
Can low-iron glass be coated for specific applications?
Just like standard float glass, low-iron glass can be laminated or coated to provide solar control, thermal insulation and/or security properties. When used as a base glass for coated glass, it can offer a clearer look compared to the same coating applied on standard float glass. It is particularly beneficial when the base glass needs to be thick for structural or security reasons.
It can be combined with a variety of decorative coatings to create acid-etched privacy glass, true image reflectance mirror glass, or painted glass with a shiny opaque appearance.
Guardian UltraClear low-iron glass is also the standard base glass for our Guardian Clarity™ Neutral anti-reflective glass product. The high transmission and neutrality of the product combined with the anti-reflective properties of the coating creates an almost perfect viewing experience.
👉 Expert talk
"There are two important differences compared to standard float glass that are important to take into consideration when using low-iron glass:
When tempering low-iron glass: due to its higher transparency, it absorbs less energy than standard glass, thereforethe tempering furnace cycle time needs to be adapted(increased).
A high-performance coating can have a slightly different appearance when applied on low-iron glass compared to standard or mid-iron glass. The thicker the glass, the more important the difference will be. It is therefore always recommended tocompare samplesor to visualize a real size mock-up."
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Applications of low-iron glass
Low-iron glass is the base glass for many applications. It can be further processed to provide enhanced performance, aspects or shapes, whether for interior design or exterior architectural applications.
Adam M?rk
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Curtain walls
Low-iron glass can be coated with high performance coatings to curtain wall façades with a neutral, crystal clear look, as well as a higher level of light transmission compared to standard float glass with similar coatings. Its use is especially interesting in double skin facades to help keep high natural light transmission despite the number of glazings and their thickness.
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Storefronts
Due to its higher light transmission and color neutrality, low-iron glass allows a true view with natural colors to goods on display behind storefront glass.
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Partition glass
Using low-iron glass for partitions can increase the feeling of openness and the amount of natural light that enters a room thanks to its high light transmission. Due to the neutrality of low-iron glass, the partitions are highly transparent, providing a very clean, sophisticated look.
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Balustrades and flooring
Balustrades and flooring require laminated glass for structural and security reasons. However, the thicker the glass assembly, the more you can see the slightly greenish tint of standard float glass. Using low-iron glass for these types of applications allows this greenish effect to be reduced, and to have a true view through floors or balustrades that seem to disappear into their environment.
