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Bird Safe Glass – FAQ’s
GlasPro Bird Safe Glass – Frequently Asked Questions
As more cities and municipalities in the U.S. and Canada adopt bird-friendly glazing requirements, we are often asked many of the same questions about Bird Safe glass. This month’s blog post offers the answers to the frequently asked questions. You can find more information on our product pages: https://glas-pro.com/products/bird-safe-glass/
How does GlasPro Bird Safe UV glass work?
Many birds can see into the ultraviolet spectrum of light*, a range largely invisible to people. GlasPro Bird Safe UV glass uses special UV reflective technology in the form of a line pattern on the glass. GlasPro Bird Safe is highly effective collision deterrent because birds can see the lined patterns and avoid the glass. However, the lined patterns are virtually invisible to the human eye.
Birds’ vision is tetrachromatic: Most have long-, medium-, and short-wavelength cones similar to those of humans, but in addition have a cone type enabling them to detect wavelengths in the near ultraviolet range (300–400 nm)
What is “Material Threat Factor?”
Developed by the American Bird Conservancy, a Material Threat Factor is a system for specifying bird friendly materials. Threat Factor is a way to assign scores that provide a measure of birds’ ability to see and avoid patterned glass and other materials. These scores allow architects to design buildings using rated glass. Threat Factors also make it possible to create a credit for reducing bird collisions in the LEED Rating System.
Glass is tested to determine its Threat Factor to birds. The Threat Factor of a material is based on flying at least 80 individual birds down the tunnel and recording whether they fly toward the control (regular piece of glass) or to the patterned test glass. For example, suppose 80 birds flew toward the panes, with 20 flying toward the test pattern and 60 toward the control. 25 percent of the birds flew toward the test pattern and it would therefore have a Threat Factor of 25. Learn more: https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/threat-factor-rating/
Have GlasPro Bird Safe glass products been tested by the American Bird Conservancy?
GlasPro Ultraviolet Reflective Glass product has been tested by the ABC. The UV product has a Threat Factor of 21. GlasPro’s other Bird Safe products abide by the ABC 2 x 4 rule.
What does 2 x 4 Rule mean?
The 2×4 rule describes the distance between elements making up a pattern applied to windows for the purpose of preventing bird strikes. To be effective, the pattern must uniformly cover the entire window and consist of elements of any shape (lines, dots, other geometric figures, etc.) separated by no more than 2 inches, if oriented in horizontal rows, or 4 inches if oriented in vertical columns. These patterns eliminate bird-window collisions.
What does the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) consider a “bird-friendly” material?
The ABC defines bird-friendly material conservatively, as having a threat factor of less than 30, corresponding to a reduction of collisions of a least 50 percent. The lower the Threat Factor, the more effective the test pattern will be at reducing collisions.
Can Bird Safe glass be combined with low e glass?
Bird Safe UV glass can be combined with high performance Low E glass to meet the performance standards required in the US. Walker AviProtek bird-friendly glass can be combined with Low E.
GlasPro Fritted Glass cannot be combined with Low E glass. The Bird Safe Frit is best suited for railings.
What is LEED Pilot Credit 55? Can I earn it by using GlasPro Bird Safe?
Yes, you can earn green LEED points using Bird Safe glass.
When the ABC developed the Threat Factor rating system, it became possible to use the Threat Factors assigned to materials as a basis for a LEED credit. This credit was added to LEED in 2011 and is available for projects using any version of LEED.
The credit was modeled on traditional methods of calculating insulation ratings. Every material on a building is assigned a Threat Factor rating. Ratings are entered into a calculator along with the area covered by each material.
Recognizing that the lower floors of any building are the most likely to pose a glass collision danger to birds, materials on the lower floors are assigned a weighted Threat Factor – they count twice as much as materials used higher up on the same building.
