Self-Cleaning Glazing
Self-Cleaning Glazing
Long described as an impossible dream, self-cleaning glass is now a reality. After years of research and development leading glass manufacturer Pilkington has introduced the Pilkington Activ™ the world’s first self-cleaning glass to use a microscopic coating with unique dual action.
The first stage of the cleaning process is “photocatalytic”. In this stage the coating reacts with daylight to break down organic dirt.
The second stage is “hydrophilic”. Here, instead of forming droplets, rainwater hits the glass and spreads evenly, running off in a “sheet” and taking the loosened dirt with it, also drying quickly without leaving streaks.
PRODUCT FEATURES
- Superior solar control
- Superior low-emissivity
- Range of transmission & reflection
- Wide range of performance options
- Works on cloudy days and at night
- Coating lasts lifetime of the glass
Product Advantages
Pilkington Activ™ technology not only provides the practical benefit of less cleaning, but ensures clearer, better looking windows. Combined with the high selectivity and low-e coating of Pilkington Suncool™, a truly revolutionary market leading product and is the superior choice for curtain wall glass.
Designed to achieve optimum performance in large glazed areas, Pilkington Activ Suncool™ is suitable for both commercial and residential applications that demand high energy efficiency and self-cleaning properties.
With the increased use of glass in architecture, Pilkington Activ Suncool™ is the ideal product for curtain wall glazing, creating consistent and cost-efficient attractive glass facades. Pilkington Activ Suncool™ allows the designer to control every aspect of the performance in curtain wall applications, from solar to thermal considerations to aesthetic appeal; giving clearer better looking windows.
Construction
The self-cleaning glass can be incorporated into our commercial curtain walling systems and into both our thermally broken & thermally enhanced casement window systems.
For Curtain Walling construction:
The system is fabricated in “stick” form, is pressure equalised, and self-draining by means of overlapping the transoms onto the mullion members. Water is then channelled to the exterior of the building via the integral drainage chambers within the mullions. Where the transoms connect to the mullions, the joint is sealed by means of a purpose designed transom end seal. The transom members are square cut and fixed securely to the mullions by means of spring cleats design to fit into integral ports within the cavity of the transom wall.
The system is dry glazed using proprietary, high performance captive gaskets internally. All internal gaskets are bonded and sealed during construction, using waterproof adhesive to ensure that a watertight joint at all cruciform connections is maintained at all times. The system is thermally broken throughout by means of a continuous thermal isolator located between a choice of aluminium or thermally enhanced pressure plates and all structural members. The thermally enhanced pressure plate is held in place by aluminium stitch plates. The pressure plate is retained by using stainless steel self-tapping screws. Carefully designed fixing brackets have been developed for the curtain walling system to allow a secure and simple fix so that all loads can be transferred back to the building’s main structural form with ease.
For Window construction:
Frame members are mitre cut at 45°, corners are reinforced with extruded aluminium crimping cleats and corner braces, and a secure joint is formed by pneumatically crimping into the extruded crimping cleat. Mullion and transom bars are square cut shaped and fixed securely to the frame by means of stainless steel screws and fixing cleats. All frame joints are sealed during construction against entry of water using a two-part adhesive.
Materials
Aluminium profiles are extruded from aluminium alloy 6060T6, T5 or T4 complying with the recommendations of BS EN 12020-2 / BS EN 755 Parts 1 to 9. Polyamide thermal breaks are produced from glass reinforced nylon sections designed to withstand temperatures in excess of 200°C, allowing the sections to be powder coated after thermally breaking.
The range of sections can be provided in either of the following ranges of finishes:
1: Anodised to BS 1615 or BS 3987 or BS EN 12373-1
2: Powder organic coated to BS 6496 or BS EN 12206-1
This system can accommodate a different colour finish internally to that used externally.
The powder coating is produced to Qualicoat standards.
To learn more about this product and for detailed information browse through the datasheets below.