Flagship guide · 11 min read
The Complete Guide to Glass Specification
The frame gets most of the attention, but the glass does most of the work. This is our full guide to choosing it properly.
Reflective Glass Explained
Reflective glass gives strong daytime privacy and solar reduction, with a mirror-like appearance that suits some elevations more than others.
3 min read
Reflective glass carries a metallic coating applied more heavily than a standard solar control coating, giving the glass a mirror-like appearance from outside during daylight while remaining transparent enough to see through from inside. It is used on commercial buildings for exactly this reason, and it has a place in residential glazing too, particularly on overlooked elevations where strong daytime privacy is wanted without permanently obscuring the glass.
This guide covers how it behaves, where it works well, and the trade-offs to weigh up before specifying it.
How reflective glass behaves
During the day, when light levels outside are higher than inside, reflective glass acts largely like a mirror from the outside, while someone inside the room can see out relatively normally. At night this reverses: once internal lights are on and it is dark outside, the glass behaves more like an ordinary window, and internal visibility to the outside increases. This day/night behaviour is the single most important thing to understand before specifying it.
- Daytime privacy
- Strong — glass reads as reflective from outside
- Night-time privacy
- Reduced — behaves more like standard glass once lit internally
- Solar reduction
- Strong — among the highest g-value reductions available
- Appearance
- Mirror-like sheen visible from outside in daylight
Where it suits a home
- Ground-floor windows close to a public pavement or road
- Home offices or studies with a strong daytime privacy need
- West-facing elevations with both an overlooking issue and a strong afternoon sun problem
- Commercial-adjacent or semi-public frontages, such as a converted barn near a footpath
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