GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies with sites all over the world. In order to fight global warming and climate change, GlaxoSmithKline has started its own ‘Climate Change and Energy Reduction' program. By 2010 GSK intends reducing energy consumption in its sites by 10% worldwide and by the end of 2015 it aims at consuming 45% less energy.

Within this frame it was decided at GlaxoSmithKline in Marly-le-Roi to have Luxasolar® glass foil installed.
In summer time Luxasolar® reflects 93% of the infrared rays.
The foil is hyper-insulant, self-adherent, and is to be applied to the inner side of glass surfaces; it is invisible and appropriate for any type of glass. It is also suitable for vertical or slanting glazing and glass porches.

Luxasolar® is composed of 5 corrosion free layers of precious metal alloys and a protective coating. Each of those layers reflects a specific frequence in the sun light, without the quality of the light being affected.

The foil is invisible and reflects the sun light the same way glass does.

In summer it provides reflection of sun heat, as a result of which temperatures inside a building go down to 10 degrees Celsius.
As the air conditioning system has to operate less frequently, this results in huge savings in energy costs.

In winter time Luxasolar will considerably improve thermal insulation of the existing glazing. Which is a very important factor for GSK as in winter an enormous quantity of heat is lost through the windows.

GlaxoSmithKline has performed a couple of tests after installation of the Luxasolar® Clear View glass foils in order to measure how big the percent energy reduction really is.
The Luxasolar® glass foils were applied to plain double glazing with a k value of 2.9. The tests have shown that thermal insulation improved considerably, which resulted in an increase of the average indoor temperature by 3.5°C.

Knowing that an increase by 1°C in winter means a decrease by 7% of energy costs on the invoice, it can be concluded that in winter time energy savings by approximately 25% are being achieved.

Luxasolar® does not only lead to energy cuts of 30% both in summer and in winter, but also to a huge reduction of CO2-emissions that are responsible for the massive discharge of greenhouse gases. Owing to the continued increase of fuel prices, the time span of the guaranteed ‘Return on Investment' keeps getting less than 2 to 3 years.
The company’s warranty on the foil has a validity period of 10 years.

And next to the insulating effect there are other, additional advantages. The UV reflection makes discoloring or ageing of carpets, furniture or works of art caused by sun rays a thing of the past…

There’s also less indirect lighting and reflection in video screens, which enhances working comfort. And in the event of glass breaking, the glass surface is held together by the foil, thus increasing safety.

The Luxasolar® Clear View glass foils have been tested according to the European standards (NBNEN410, 12898 and 673). In the past years a large number of projects have been realized in which Luxasolar was applied in residential dwellings and office buildings such as for instance within the European Commission GD environmental services and Kyoto.