• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.30 no.8 s.251
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• pp.772-779
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• 2006

Window is a critical component in the design of energy-efficient buildings. To minimize the heat loss, insulation performance of the glazing has to be improved. Manufacturing of vacuum glazing has been motivated by the possibility of making windows of very good thermal insulation properties for such applications. It is made by maintaining vacuum in the gap between two glass panes. Pillars are placed between them to withstand the atmospheric pressure. Edge covers are applied to reduce conduction through the edge. Accurate measurements have been made of the radiative heat transfer, the pillar conduction and the gas conduction using a guarded hot plate apparatus. Vacuum glazing is found to have low thermal conductance roughly below $1W/m^2K$. Among the heat transfer modes of residual gas conduction, conduction through support pillar and the radiative heat transfer between the glass panes, the last one is the most dominant to the overall thermal conductance. Vacuum glazing using very low emittance AI-coated glass has an overall thermal conductance of about $0.7W/m^2K$.