AGC releases “SunbalanceTM Aqua Green” and “SunbalanceTM Pure Clear”

Date: 16 April 2012

— Successful development of new Ecoglass products will help save energy and maintain the indoor environment as “cooler in summer,” “warmer in winter” and “brighter in the daytime” —Tokyo, April 12, 2012 —AGC (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.; Head Office: Tokyo; President & CEO: Kazuhiko Ishimura) will launch four new products, including “SunbalanceTM Aqua Green” and “SunbalanceTM Pure Clear,” under the high thermal insulation Low-E pairglass “SunbalanceTM” series.

These products will be manufactured at its Kashima Plant (Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture) by using one of the world’s largest coating facilities, which will begin operation in May, and will be released in succession from June. Compared with the existing “SunbalanceTM” series ecoglass products, the new products contribute to greater energy saving, with reduced heating and cooling loads through achieving higher energy-saving performance and reduced lighting loads through enabling higher transmission of visible light.

There has been a rapidly increasing need for making buildings more energy efficient as consumers become more appreciative of comfort and health-consciousness and as needs for energy conservation rise amid the recent tight energy supply conditions. As a result, consumers are paying attention to glass products with high energy saving performance. In line with this trend, demand for Ecoglass that achieves high energy conservation is rising for new single-family houses and condominiums as well as for commercial buildings, and we expect that this demand will increase further in the future. Meanwhile, with the diffusion of ecoglass, customers require improvement of performance and expansion of lineup, such as products with higher heat insulation/shielding performance; products that show higher energy-saving performance and make indoor environments brighter at the same time; and products which come with a wide range of color options to suit various situations.

In order to meet the rising needs of consumers, AGC will add the following new products to the “SunbalanceTM” series product lineup. Both of the products come in standard-type and in higher-performance type (E-series) with higher heat insulation performance. The features of the new products are as follows.

1. SunbalanceTM Aqua Green E (high-performance type) / Aqua Green (standard type) (due for release on June 26)

- Products which have both a high heat shielding effect for protecting against heat and a high heat insulating effect for protecting against cold, and which demonstrate extremely high energy-saving performance throughout the year. These types of products area suitable for use in buildings in the Kanto and Western region of Japan

- Providing heat shielding about two times greater and heat insulation about 2.5 times greater than ordinary double glazing glass (comparison between Aqua Green E and double glazing glass which is composed of 3 mm-thick glass and a 12 mm-thick air layer).

- Achieving a lighter reflected color tone compared with AGC’s existing product (Green), which makes it better blend with the exterior of a building.

2. SunbalanceTM Pure Clear E (high-performance type) / Pure Clear (standard type) (due for release on August 1)

- Products with a high heat insulating effect for protecting against cold and a high transmission of visible light for increased brightness indoors, and which are suitable for use in buildings in cold regions and in north-facing windows.

- Achieving heat insulation and brightness about 10% greater than AGC’s existing product (Silver).

- Enhanced transparency compared with AGC’s existing product (Silver), which makes it better blend with the exterior of a building.

AGC will deliver solutions for environment/energy issues by utilizing the leading-edge coating facilities which it has newly introduced and by continuing to place various new Ecoglass products of the “Sunbalance” line on the market.

Media Contact

Toshihiro Ueda, General Manager, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

AGC Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (Contact: Kenichi Oda; Tel: +81-3-3218-5603; E-mail: info-pr@agc.com)

*Ecoglass is the common name for Low-E double-glazed products manufactured by three members of the Flat Glass Manufacturers Association of Japan (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd., and Central Glass Co., Ltd.) that satisfy the following heat insulation / shielding performance standards:

(1) Heat insulation performance which clears the (best rank) or (second rank) evaluation in “Energy-saving architectural material ranking”

(2) Heat shielding performance that satisfies next-generation energy-saving standards without any window attachments or with only a lace curtain drawn over a window

*Thermal transmission coefficient (U-value):

Indicates the amount of heat that passes through an area of 1m2 in watts when the difference in temperature inside and outside the glass is one degree Celsius. The smaller the U-value of glass is, the higher its thermal insulation performance is and the lower its heating load is.

*Solar heat gain coefficient (η-value):

Indicates the ratio of the amount of heat that flows into a room assuming the η-value of light incident on glass surfaces is 1. The smaller the η-value of glass is, the higher its heat shielding performance is and the lower its cooling load is.

*Visible light transmission ratio

The rate at which electromagnetic waves that a human can perceive as light pass through. The higher the visible light transmission ratio of glass is, the more light it can take in inside a room to make the indoor environment brighter.