Annealed vs Tempered Glass

Both annealed and tempered glass are very popular types of glass available in the market today. They have both been used for a number of years successfully in many different applications.

When trying to choose between annealed and tempered glass, there are a few different things you will want to keep in mind. Here are the basics of annealed and tempered glass and what you should expect from each one.

Durability

One of the biggest differences between these two types of glass is the durability that they provide. Tempered glass is more durable and stronger than annealed glass.

Tempered glass will hold up to quite a bit more wear and tear than other types of glass. Tempered glass is typically much thicker and harder than annealed.

As a homeowner, this presents you a greater likelihood that the window will stay intact over the years. You will not have to worry about small things causing breakage like you would with an annealed window.

Cost

Another difference between these two types of glass is the cost involved. The initial cost of buying tempered glass is usually quite a bit higher than paying for annealed glass.

Therefore, annealed glass is the choice of those that are on a budget in most cases. The cheaper windows on the market are commonly made out of annealed glass.

Tempered glass takes a longer process to make and a lot more goes into making them than with annealed glass. Therefore, in order to accommodate for the extra processes involved, they have to charge more for tempered glass.

However, if you consider the long-term costs involved with windows, tempered glass might actually be cheaper.

Annealed glass has a much higher probability of breaking. Therefore, over the years, you might have to replace annealed windows more often.

This means that a tempered glass window could last quite a bit longer than an annealed one and save you money in the long run.

Safety

Another key area where these two types of glass differ is in the safety concerns. With annealed glass, when the glass breaks, you will get many sharp and jagged shards of glass everywhere.

This can cause significant injury to anyone that is around.

With tempered glass, it will actually break into small and rounded pieces of glass. Therefore, there is a much greater likelihood that everyone in the vicinity will be safe.

If safety is a major concern for you, you will want to go ahead and spend the extra money to get tempered glass.

Application

When deciding between tempered and annealed glass you want to consider the application in which it will be used. If you are putting the glass in a very low traffic area that no one will ever touch, annealed glass might be sufficient.

However, if you are putting the glass in a very high-traffic area that many people will be around, tempered glass should most likely be the choice.