Viridian (formerly Pilkington and DMS Glass) has recently launched a new range of residential energy-efficient glass selected specifically for Australia’s demanding climate.
Viridian SmartGlass is an affordable range of four residential single glazed glass options that are helping Australia’s major volume builders meet the increasingly stringent energy efficient building regulations while maintaining housing affordability.
Major volume builders including Sekisui House, owners of AV Jennings Contract Homes, Clarendon Homes and McCracken Homes have signed up in advance to offer SmartGlass while several other builders are close to reaching agreements.
Viridian SmartGlass incorporates ‘Low E’ active insulation technology, a microscopically thin yet durable coating that is permanently fused to the glass during glass making. Low E glass offers up to 39% better insulation performance than ordinary glass, improving a home’s energy efficiency rating by up to a full ‘Star’.
Sustainability Manager for Sekisui House, Luke Poliszcuk says that Viridian SmartGlass has been included as a standard feature in their Aurora collection of energy efficient homes to meet growing consumer demand for affordable green housing.
Luke explains that Viridian SmartGlass offers more flexibility in meeting the varying needs of the local market and is particularly significant in light of recent changes to the energy efficient regulations. He adds that the energy efficient glass helps them achieve more sustainability focused designs cost-effectively.
Sekisui House’s new Aurora Collection was designed to let in natural light and maximise views, while keeping the house cool in summer and warm in winter. According to Luke, Viridian SmartGlass addresses affordability issues and lets homeowners experience the value of better glazing.
Charlie Siciliano of South Australian based builders McCracken Homes, another company that has adopted Viridian SmartGlass says that the move to the energy efficient glass range allows them to easily respond to varying climate zones and home orientations, tailoring designs to meet the tricky extra ‘half star’ now required to reach six star energy efficiency.
Charlie Siciliano adds that the range of four options in Viridian SmartGlass, each with varying solar protection and glare control levels allows them to cost effectively make the right glazing choice to meet regulations based on the location of windows and the local climate.
