The Japanese company Panasonic has successfully adapted certain technologies for the production of plasma television panels to the production of vacuum double-glazed windows. Panasonic entered the nascent vacuum insulating glass market in 2017. The company produces thin pairs of glass with a vacuum inside, the thermal conductivity of which is much lower than that of traditional double-glazed windows with air or inert gases. Such double-glazed windows are already installed in freezers in supermarkets. This is done both by Panasonic's subsidiary, the American company Hussmann Corporation, and by partners of the Japanese manufacturer, for example, the European AGC Inc.
Today Panasonic that it is the first in the industry to begin commercial supplies of vacuum double-glazed windows made of tempered glass. A demonstration of the new development is planned at the January CES 2020 exhibition in Las Vegas. Mass production will begin after April 1, 2020, when the next fiscal year starts in Japan. Tempered glass means it will be more difficult to break, but even if it does break it won't cause serious injury because it breaks into many small shards with blunt edges. Tempered glass with vacuum will find application in refrigeration units and as glazing in public places and offices. The heat loss of such glass is much lower than that of conventional double-glazed windows and they can become the next step in the development of energy-efficient construction.
The thermal conductivity coefficient of Panasonic's 6mm vacuum tempered glass insulating glass units is the lowest in the industry and is equal to 0,7 W/(m2 K). This is lower than a standard triple-glazed unit. Another improvement is the use of transparent spacers in the vacuum glazing unit, which are now barely visible. Previously, gaskets were made of metal, since they are exposed to pressure 2000 times greater than atmospheric pressure. Panasonic developers managed to find a suitable transparent material that is not inferior in strength to metals and does not block the view from the window.
Finally, vacuum double-glazed windows made of tempered glass became possible only after the development of a new material for soldering the glass unit into a sealed block. Previously, the soldering material required heating to high temperatures, which destroyed the tempering effect of the glass. The new material melts and seals the glass unit at a significantly lower temperature. Panasonic's new tempered double-glazed windows will go on sale under the Glavenir brand.
Source: 3dnews.ru