PPG Industries’ Architectural Glass Configurator is now available as a downloadable desktop widget and is the latest in a series of mobile and Web-based tools PPG has introduced recently to make it easier for architects to research and specify products wherever they are.
PPG Industries has announced that its Architectural Glass Configurator is now available as a downloadable desktop widget for WINDOWS® and MAC® computers. The desktop widget is the latest in a series of mobile and Web-based tools PPG has introduced recently to make it easier for architects to research and specify products whether they are travelling, in the office or at home.
The glass configurator helps architects to identify the best architectural glass for their projects by enabling them to view and compare the aesthetics and performance data of every PPG glass product, including high-performance tinted glasses, ultra-clear STARPHIRE® glass, and energy-efficient passive and solar control, low-emissivity glasses such as SUNGATE® and SOLARBAN® products. The online tool has been used more than 200,000 times since it was launched in 2010, and it currently attracts more than 10,000 visitors per month.
By downloading the configurator widget directly to their computers, architects can access and compare glass products even when they don’t have Internet access. To download the widget, architects must download the YAHOO!® Widgets application at widgets.yahoo.com/download, and then download the WinZip file for the PPG Glass Configurator Widget by visiting www.ppgideascapes.com and clicking on “IDEASCAPES TOOLS” on the home page and then on “Glass Configurator Widget” in the list that appears.
The introduction of the desktop widget follows the launch earlier this year of a mobile version of the PPG Glass Product Performance Calculator, which architects can access through APPLE® brand and ANDROID™ system smartphones.
PPG’s Architectural Glass Product Performance calculator, which is based on the Enermodal FRAME™plus Program, enables architects and specifiers to estimate the thermal and optical performance of windows and insulating glass units (IGUs) fabricated from any combination of PPG products. When architects enter a prospective IGU configuration, the tool instantly calculates the related performance data for U-value, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), visible light transmittance (VLT), light-to-solar gain (LSG) ratio, colour index and other thermal and optical measures.
Glenn T. Miner, PPG director of construction, flat glass, said PPG’s mobile calculator was designed to function on the full array of platforms architects and specifiers use every day. “If you have a smartphone and access to the Internet, the PPG mobile calculator is really the best tool for you,” he said. “Anybody can use it because it doesn’t favour one technology over another.”
The PPG mobile calculator can be accessed at mobile.ppgglasscalc.com.