Vitro Architectural Glass is introducing BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass, its first proprietary glass product designed to reduce bird collisions.
BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass is a first-surface laser-etched glass manufactured at Vitro's Wichita Falls, Texas, plant.
BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass is available in 6 millimeter thickness with four dot patterns (2x2 square, 2x4 rectangle, 2x4 diamond and 2x2 diamond) with directional and non-directional orientation. It can be applied to clear, Acuity and Starphire low-iron glasses and paired with Solarban 65, Solarban 70 and Solarban 72 glasses on the second surface. Vitro expects to expand BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass options in the future.
What is “Bird-Safe” Glass?
Birds can become confused by glass in two ways: reflectivity and transparency. If birds see reflections of trees or sky in the glass, they perceive it as an open space in which to fly. By etching the exterior/first surface of the glass, its reflective quality is broken up and the illusion of open space is removed. Similarly, the etching disrupts the uniform transparency and alerts birds to the presence of the glass.
Bird-friendly building codes have already been enacted in several North American states and provinces: New York, California, Illinois, Ontario, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington D.C., Virginia, Wisconsin, Alberta, British Columbia, Maryland and Maine.
BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass by Vitro is manufactured using laser etching, which is a “clean” etching process that is non-caustic and uses no harsh chemicals to apply bird-friendly visual markers, offering a greener way to prevent bird strikes.
BirdSmart glass has received American Bird Conservancy (ABC) tunnel testing approval to comply with existing and emerging building codes.
Benefits of BirdSmart Bird-Safe Glass
By combining BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass with Vitro’s Solarban family of solar control low-e glass products, buildings can achieve both bird-friendly etching and solar performance without impacting visible light transmittance (VLT) or solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC).
Both BirdSmart glass and Solarban glass are manufactured at Vitro’s Wichita Falls plant. This central location helps ensure an efficient supply chain and allows for direct shipping, which reduces transit times, speeds up delivery and contributes to the product's cost-effectiveness.
Laser-etched BirdSmart Bird Safe Glass is a first-surface marking designed to meet even the strictest building codes and is more effective for birds such as hummingbirds, pigeons and birds of prey that don’t see ultraviolet (UV) coatings as well.
Ideal for both small and large projects, BirdSmart glass is available in sizes up to Titan glass (130x240 inches) and can be ordered in sizes as small as one pack. BirdSmart glass also can be manufactured without a low-e coating.
