Vitro Architectural Glass, the largest glass manufacturer in North America, today announced that VacuMax™ Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) and Sungate ThermL™ glass have been recognized as a Top Product of the Year in the prestigious E+E Leader Product & Project Awards.
The E+E Leader Product & Project Awards is an annual program that recognizes innovative products, services, and projects delivering energy and environmental benefits while improving companies' bottom line. As sustainability and energy challenges grow, the awards serve as a trusted benchmark, showcasing cutting-edge solutions and success stories. Through expert evaluation, the program highlights proven tools and strategies that drive meaningful improvements in sustainability and energy management.
The construction and design industries are shifting towards energy-efficient spaces due to stricter building codes, carbon reduction initiatives and increased public interest in sustainability. Innovations like VacuMax™ VIG and Sungate ThermL™ glass by Vitro improve insulation, durability and energy efficiency while maintaining the visual characteristics of glass, helping architects achieve sustainability goals, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and significantly enhance thermal performance.
Now manufactured exclusively with Solarban® 70 solar-control, low-e glass by Vitro, VacuMax™ VIG provides a substantial 79% improvement in U-values, delivering world-leading R-values of up to R20, rivaling the performance of traditional walls. The VIG unit's slender design and light weight make it easy to integrate into traditional glazing systems, window frames or curtainwall applications. Furthermore, in addition to the notable thermal improvements, recent visual enhancements have improved appearance by eliminating vacuum ports and discreetly concealing "getters."
Sungate ThermL™ glass is a new low-emissivity (low-e) coating engineered for use on the interior surface of a typical one-inch insulating glass unit (IGU) that reduces heat transfer and dramatically improves U-values when paired with a Solarban® solar control low-e glass by Vitro on the second surface. The fourth-surface low-e coating enables superior thermal performance, improving U values by 20% or more, without changing the visual characteristics of the IGU because of its colorless and low-reflective aesthetic.
"Every year, our judges look to recognize the businesses that are truly moving the needle and striving for sustainability and operational efficiency," said Kay Harrison, VP and head of the E+E Leader Awards program. "This year’s winners exemplify the kind of forward-thinking strategies and technologies that companies need to stay ahead in an increasingly complex energy and environmental landscape."
