When it’s time to install new glass panes at home, homeowners often have to choose between annealed glass or tempered glass.
Without a doubt, both types of residential glass offer their own specific pros and cons.
Annealed glass, also known as standard or plate glass, is commonly used in many homes, mainly because of its affordability.
Lately, however, the popularity of tempered glass installations is rising, as it does offer a number of benefits in terms of safety and security.
Let’s make a comparison between annealed vs. tempered glass for homes to help you decide which type to choose for your next residential glass installation.
Some Facts About Annealed Glass
Annealed glass gets its name from the thermal treating process that creates it.
Annealing involves heating glass at over 600 degrees Celsius and cooling it slowly afterward. The process aims to make the glass stronger, more durable, and not easy to break.
Annealing also makes the glass less likely to shatter when going through the internal stresses involved during its preparation for commercial availability. That means annealed glass can withstand all the cutting, drilling, and polishing it will be subjected to during fabrication without incurring damage.
What You Need To Know About Tempered Glass
Tempered glass is primarily known for its strength.
Like annealed glass, the creation of tempered glass involves heating glass to over 600 degrees Celsius. Its cooling process is different, though.
While annealed glass goes through a slow cooling process, tempered glass requires rapid cooling at high pressures. Called “quenching,” this high-pressure cooling procedure is responsible for the enhanced strength of tempered glass.
Annealed vs. Tempered Glass
Let’s compare annealed and tempered glass in terms of cost, durability, safety, and applications.
Cost
One of the biggest reasons why annealed glass is popular among homeowners is its more affordable price.
Annealed glass is a lot cheaper than tempered glass because, unlike the latter, it doesn’t take that long to fabricate the former.
For homeowners who want residential glass repair or replacement on a budget, annealed glass is their go-to option for residential glass.
Durability
While the heating process for both types of glass plays a crucial role in strengthening them, the quenching process for tempered glass makes it a lot tougher and durable than annealed glass.
According to Scientific American, annealed glass generally breaks at around 6,000 pounds per square inch (psi), while federal guidelines set the breaking point for tempered glass at 24,000 psi.
Tempered glass is also better at withstanding strong winds than annealed glass, making them perfect for homes and buildings located in windy areas.
Tempered glass also holds up well against extreme heat and cold, as well as everyday wear and tear.
Safety
No matter how strong any type of glass is, it will always break with the application of the right amount of force.
However, tempered glass is regarded as safer than annealed glass when it breaks.
When tempered glass breaks, it will shatter into hundreds of dull, pebble-like pieces that aren’t likely to cut skin. More importantly, those pieces interlock with other pieces upon breaking and stay together most of the time.
On the other hand, breaking annealed glass will produce shards that are sharp and jagged enough to cause injuries.
Applications
Considering the tendency of annealed glass to break into jagged and dangerous shards, it would be wiser to use tempered glass in high-traffic areas in your home, like the path from the kitchen to the living room, to reduce the likelihood of injuries when it breaks.
Annealed glass would be great for lighting fixtures, especially if you want diffused lighting at home. You can also use annealed glass for tabletops and cabinets.
For your bathroom and shower doors, tempered glass would be the better choice. Should you ever slip and fall in the bathroom and hit the tempered glass, your risk of sustaining cuts because of it is so much lower.
These are just the most distinct differences between annealed glass and tempered glass. When shopping for glass panes for use at home, always consider their respective characteristics, your home safety concerns, your budget, and the application you have in mind before making a decision.
