Glass Options
The Andersen 400 Series offers a variety of glass options designed to enhance energy efficiency, comfort, and style for your exterior doors. These options are available across their Patio-Side Hinged/French, Patio-Sliding, Patio, and Gliding door types.
Low-E Glass: The cornerstone of Andersen's energy-efficient glass offerings is Low-E (low-emissivity) glass. This technology is applied as a microscopically thin, transparent coating on the glass surface. This coating works by reflecting solar heat, keeping your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This leads to reduced energy consumption and lower utility bills.
Multiple Low-E Options: Andersen provides different Low-E glass formulations tailored to specific climate needs:
- Low-E4® Glass: This is the standard Low-E glass offered. It provides a good balance of solar heat rejection and visible light transmission, making it suitable for a wide range of climates.
- Low-E4® Sun Glass: For climates with intense sun exposure, Low-E4® Sun Glass offers enhanced solar heat gain control. It effectively blocks more solar heat, further reducing cooling costs in warmer regions.
- Low-E4® SmartSun™ Glass: This is Andersen's most advanced Low-E glass option. It maximizes solar heat gain blocking while allowing a significant amount of visible light into your home, offering the highest level of energy efficiency and natural light.
Tempered Glass: For safety and security, certain configurations of the Andersen 400 Series doors can be specified with tempered glass. Tempered glass is heat-treated to increase its strength. In the event of breakage, it shatters into small, relatively harmless pebble-like pieces, reducing the risk of injury.
Laminated Glass: Another safety and security option available is laminated glass. This type of glass consists of two or more layers of glass bonded together with a strong interlayer. If the glass breaks, the interlayer holds the fragments together, preventing them from falling out and providing an additional barrier.
Obscure Glass: For areas where privacy is desired, such as bathrooms or entryways, obscure glass is an option. This glass is designed to distort the view while still allowing light to pass through, offering privacy without sacrificing natural illumination. Various patterns and textures of obscure glass may be available.
Decorative Glass: The Andersen 400 Series may also offer decorative glass options to enhance the aesthetic appeal of your doors. These can include various etched, textured, or patterned glass designs that add a unique touch of style and personality to your home.
Gas-Filled Insulated Glass Units: In addition to the glass types, the 400 Series doors typically utilize insulated glass units (IGUs). These units consist of two or more panes of glass separated by a spacer and sealed to create an airtight unit. The space between the panes is often filled with an inert gas, such as Argon or Krypton. These gases are denser than air and have lower thermal conductivity, which further improves the insulating properties of the glass, reducing heat transfer and enhancing energy efficiency.
Grids and Divided Lites: For a more traditional look, the 400 Series doors offer various grid and divided lite options. These can be installed between the panes of glass (between-the-glass grilles) for easy cleaning, or on the interior and exterior surfaces of the glass (simulated divided lites or true divided lites, depending on the product line and configuration) to mimic the appearance of multiple smaller panes.
