It's particularly effective in cutting down solar heat gain and is useful in large areas of glass facing north and west and especially in overhead glazing, which forms a major content of a window, is approximately 8% of the total house envelope but is responsible for approximately 49% of a homes heat loss and around 87% of its heat gain.

The decision in glass selection is usually one of balance between light, heat and fading.
How much light and heat do you wish to enter into a room, and how much fading occurs as a result. Most people wish to reduce the heat-gain in summer and reduce the heat-loss in winter. Tinted glass reduces the amount of heat and light from the sun that enters your home.

The common colours are grey, bronze, green and blue. It provides better heat and UV protection than clear glass and doesn't have the mirror-like appearance of reflective glass. Reflective glass looks rather like mirror glass when viewed from the outside. It's particularly effective in cutting down solar heat gain and is useful in large areas of glass facing north and west and especially in overhead glazing.