Why Mumbai’s new towers are turning to triple-silver low-E
Higher glazing ratios and stricter energy codes are pushing specifiers towards coatings that were niche five years ago.
Walk past any of the residential towers rising along Mumbai’s eastern freeway and the glass looks almost neutral. That clarity is deliberate: triple-silver low-E coatings let in daylight while rejecting most of the solar heat that would otherwise load the air-conditioning.
Façade consultants say the shift began with commercial offices and has now reached premium housing, where buyers expect floor-to-ceiling glazing without the greenish tint of older solar-control glass.
Five years ago a solar factor of 0.25 was a stretch target. Today it is the starting point on most of our tenders.
The catch is processing. Triple-silver coatings are soft-coat products that must be edge-deleted and sealed into insulated units quickly, which limits how far they can travel from the coater.
What it means for specifiers
For architects and façade consultants, the practical message is to involve the glass processor earlier. Coating choice, unit size and handling limits all shape what can be built, and late changes are expensive once a façade package is tendered.
This is demonstration content installed by UT-News. Companies and people named in demo stories are fictional.
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