Car Glass technology is a growing field. Different improvements and R&D leads to the development of different types of safety car glass for modern cars. These safety car glasses are unique from building glasses in terms of the protection they provide. Most of the countries mandate only using safety glasses that shatter into non-dangerous pieces and don’t harm car passengers in case of an accident.
Broadly there are 5 different types of safety glass used in automobiles based on the material and technology used to manufacture/fabricate the glass. These glasses include Front windscreen, door glass, body glass, rear defogger glass, and sunroof.
Types of Safety car glass
Let’s check, properties and uses of different types of safety car glass used in automobiles.
Laminated Glass
Laminated glass is the most common type of safety car glass used in windshields and sunroofs. It is by far the most-produced automotive glass partly due to its vulnerability and high breakage rate. Still, due to the properties of laminated film, it offers the best protection from glass itself as well as debris from outside. The laminated layer improves the penetration resistance ability of the car windshield without compromising its visibility.
Laminated glass is mainly made by putting a PVB layer in between 2 glass layers and some chemicals for strengthening or other properties like color, transparency, acoustic properties, etc. Laminated glass is used as a windshield in cars as it doesn’t shatter. PVB layer binds the glass together in case of damage and saves passengers. Even in case of a severe accident, a laminated car windshield acts as a cushion and protects the passengers. A laminated car windshield also keeps passengers safe by supporting airbag deployment.
Tempered Safety Glass
The second type of safety car glass is Tempered Glass. Tempered glass is used in rear windows, fixed body glass, doors, and the sunroof of your car. Tempered glass is stronger than laminated glass but it gets scattered on hitting hard or at the edges. For this reason, most countries do not permit its use as a windshield in cars.
Tempered glass is made by the heating glass at high temperatures and suddenly cooling it. Like laminated glass, specific chemicals are used to add properties to make special types of car glass-like solar control glass, acoustic glass, and colored glass.
Additionally, tempered glass in cars no longer harms you even after scattering. Tempered safety car glass is made such that it doesn’t have fine edges while scatter in pieces and hence doesn’t harm the occupant.
Defogging / Heated Glass
The third type of safety car glass is based on its use. A Defogging or Heated glass is used for defrosting the car glasses in the winter season. For cars used in cold countries, most car manufacturers offer defogging glasses. Car rear window glass is the most common defogging glass used in automobiles. You can recognize defogging glass easily by looking at the copper wires mesh on its inner surface. These wires heat the glass from inside and hence remove the fog and ice from the rear window.
Luxury or premium car brands like Mercedes, Jaguar, or Porsche also offer heated laminated car windshields. These heating windshields have very thin titanium alloy wires for defogging. Manufacturers need state-of-the-art defogging technologies to manufacture such heated windshields for cars, as they need to make sure that wire doesn’t affect drivers’ vision.
Windshield Store uses Saint Gobain and Pilkington heated car windshields. These are two renowned global car glass manufacturers for defogging windscreens. For instance, you can observe windshields of Jaguar XJL or Range Rover Discovery to check the quality and engineering required to make such a windscreen.
Also, such cars that use defogging windshield glass have an expensive windshield replacement cost. For example, Porsche Windshield Replacement is costlier than Hyundai cars who do not have the defogging feature.
Solar Control Glass
Solar heating is a prominent issue in most Asian, African, and American markets. It affects car cabins condition and causes discomfort to occupants. It also reduces car AC performance. Both solar UV and IR rays affect human health. So, car manufacturers like Mercedes, BMW, KIA offer a different type of safety car glass i.e. Solar coated car windshield.
The solar windshield has a special layer along with the PVB layer that absorbs about 99% of heat rays coming from the sun. It absorbs UV as well as IR rays coming from sun and makes car cabin cooler and pleasant. In most cases, a solar windshield is manufactured using an absorptive glazing method. Tinted and Privy glasses are the best examples of absorptive solar glass in cars.
PGW is well known for its SUNGATE and SOLARGREEN brands of solar control windshields. Mercedes S-Class uses SUNGATE windscreen, it is one of the most sold luxury sedan globally.
Acoustic Car Glass
Another special type of safety car glass that automotive glass manufacturer offers is Acoustic glass. Acoustic glass is most commonly used in car windshields. These special windscreens have layers that offer better resistance to sound and make the car interior more peaceful. Acoustic car windshields offer better protection from ambient noise.
Wrapping up: The automobile industry uses different types of safety car glass, the main purpose is to offer the best driving experience without compromising the safety of the occupants. You should select a trustworthy glass replacement company to guide you through the pros and cons of different types of safety car glass available in the market.
For more details or any inquiry regarding car glass repair and replacement contact your nearest Windshield Store or call +91-9278783578.