Low e will certainly effect plant growth. Ultraviolet Light (UV) Ultraviolet light is comprised of three different wavelength ranges of light. UVC (200-280nm) has the shortest wavelength and most energy, but is potentially the most stressful to plants and human skin causing sunburn and can be very damaging to human eyes. Fortunately, for humans and plants atmospheric absorption eliminates the majority of UVC shortwave light. no need for a window film to block it. UVB (280-315nm) has a short wavelength, high energy and also causes sunburn in humans and plants. UVB is known to damage protein and nucleic acids in plant cells, causing decreased metabolism and decreased number of flowers. UVB can have positive effects as well.. A plant responds to the stress and sunburn from UVB wavelengths, by creating it’s own sunscreen in the form of trichomes and cretinoid. Exposure to UVB radiation is also known to reduce a plants biomass, plant height and leaf area, but increase leaf thickness. lack of UVB causes leggy plants. Finally, UVA and near ultraviolet light (315-400nm) has the longest wavelengths of UV light and can be very beneficial to plant development. Wavelengths in the UVA spectral range are included in the absorption spectrum, particularly in the 380nm range. The absorption spectrum is the range of wavelengths of light that are absorbed by green chlorophyll for photosynthesis. Additionally, research has shown that exposing plants to UVA light can also inhibit mold growth and fungal development. Far-Red and Infrared Light On the far end of the spectrum (>700nm) you find far-red and infrared wavelengths of light. Far-red and infrared light have very long wavelengths, and very little energy. Infrared wavelengths are not visible to the human eye and only can be felt as heat. We know that blue and red light is optimal for plant development, but research conducted in 1957 has shown that combining blue light and red light with far-red/infrared light (700-760nm), led to an increased rate of photosynthesis due to the Emerson effect. The protein Phytochrome is the only known receptor that is sensitive to far-red/infrared wavelengths. Plants use Phytrochrome to regulate when a plant is to switch from vegetation state to flowering, and the time of flowering, due to the length of daylight or exposure to artificial light. The appropriate amounts of far-red and infrared light can also be a very effective at promoting robust stem growth, proper node spacing, and more flowers and fruit. Too much IR radiation can also be an issue because to a plant the majority of IR radiation is felt as heat. consider the amount of light (PAR or PPFD) needed to successfully grow your plants. then decide if low e is sufficient for you. It may lack certain lighting requirements.

It means their website is a mess. If you look at the specifications of the tiles listed under 0.6, 0.71 and 0.73 the "answers" don't match up with the "category". For example "Actual Width" and they list "Not Rated". It's not you, it is the website. If you want tile that is not slippery, then you need to pay attention to the Coefficient of Friction, both dry and wet.

Okay, so the vinyl company we may use sources it's glass from the same company as Pella - is this good or bad!??! I can get triple pane, or any of the other low e treatments. So, would you (WoW or eastbay or WindowsMike or ?) recommend double pane, low e 180 on south windows and then triple pane on all others? (what is the low e rating on triple pane windows - or do you choose that too?) Or maybe just triple pane on north wall (faces a lake)? Or....??? (We are doing full ICF for exterior walls, if that makes a difference?) Triple pane on ALL windows seems a bit excessive and pricey??! We also have some really big windows, so I don't know about the weight of them (does that affect efficiency)? I have been trying to find the U and SHGC numbers for the vinyls that we are looking at...haven't found them yet. Thanks for your time, patience and help!

earthwormies, Heat enters and leaves thru your windows in three different ways - conduction, radiation, and convection. When dealing with west-facing windows that are cooking you when the sun is shining on them your primary concern is radiation. You need to block the direct solar gain. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient or SHGC represents the percentage of solar heat that is directly passed (radiated) thru your window when the sun is shining directly on it. The lower the number the less direct solar heat gain. In your case you need a very low SHGC number. When the windows arrived they should have had an NFRC tag on the glass that listed the SHGC (as well as U-value and other ratings). Do you still have the tags or did anyone note what the ratings were? Using argon, or krypton, or any other gas between the two lites of glass does nothing to block solar heat gain; you need a low solar heat gain LowE coating to block radiant heat. I am very curious about Window World's claim that they couldn't gas-fill one window because it was too big? How big is that window? Do you know if your windows were manufactured using LowE glass?