If you have glass for your commercial or residential buildings, or windows or doors perhaps, maintaining them should be among your daily schedule. If you don’t maintain them regularly, your space will look unattractive and monotonous.

Glass is a fragile material; accidents might require replacing the glass for your doors, windows, or building. However, before you go shopping for an alternative, there are various things you ought to consider.

But before that, let’s know when you need a glass replacement.

When Do You Need Glass Replacement

Broken or Cracked Glass

Cracks are common occurrences in homes and commercial places. This happens because of heat and eternal forces. When there is too much force exerted on them, they crack before they shatter.

Glass is very hard to repair, and most of the time, it can’t be repaired at all. So what do you do? Again, you go shopping for a new alternative. But this time, be smarter and get a material that won’t break into pieces with a little or mild impact.

Safety Purposes

Shattered glass is dangerous if not properly handled. Therefore the best choice here is acrylic sheet. They can be used as alternatives to glass because of their excellent clarity and durability, even greater than glass.

Acrylic plastics are tough and do not crack no matter how much force is applied. You can also use acrylic for the external walls of your building as they provide maximum security. Choosing acrylic saves you from the risk of cracking or shattering glass and prevents dangerous accidents.

Light Transmission

Transmission of light is essential, especially for energy consumption and more productivity at home and commercial places. Now the question is, how effective are glasses for light transmission?

Good enough. But the problem begins when they start to age. Glass material can take scratches more easily, reducing their original transmission capacity.

Also, with time, they gradually reduce the light transmission rate and get discolored, which is why, for better transmission, people tend to rely on plastic materials.

For example, acrylic plastic can be a better choice if you’re thinking of getting plastic for having a decent amount of light in your commercial or residential place.

Is Acrylic Plastic a Good Replacement for Glass?

Now that you have decided to remove your glass and use plastic material instead, it’s time to get into more detail and find the right item.

If you’re buying a material for your mirrors, windows, or other home and commercial uses, in most cases, Acrylic plastic is the one you’re looking for. It’s also referred to as ‘plexiglass.’

Since the beginning of its discovery, acrylic or plexiglass has been the most versatile choice as an alternative to glass. However, in most cases, you won’t be able to distinguish between two materials until you come close and examine them.

So, without further ado, let’s see if Acrylic is the material that you’re looking for as an alternative to the glass material.

Weight

Weight is a large deciding factor in choosing the right material for your building. If you’re considering using the material for higher floors, this can be the only deciding factor for you.

Because even though acrylic plastic can be many times more robust than glass, the weight is the bare minimum. So, if you’re using it on a higher floor, acrylic is a good choice for you.

Thermal Conductivity

Considering the thermal conductivity of the material you’re using is important, especially for a larger building. Glass has almost four times more insulation than acrylic plastic. While acrylic has only 0.19 W/mK, glass insulation is around 0.79 W/mK (laminated glass).

Shatter and Crack Resistance

Acrylic has become famous quickly for various reasons. However, the most beneficial cause of acrylic plastic is its higher impact resistance ability.

No matter what the uses are. You never want to have your material cracking down and breaking into pieces. No matter how old it is.

And glass can give you a really poor experience there. On the other hand, acrylic plastic is far superior to any glass. It has better impact resistance, it’s more robust, and it doesn’t crack into thousands of pieces even when it’s broken.

UV Resistance

You have a few choices when you want your material to be resistant to UV rays with glass, which everyone desires nowadays to protect your family’s or employees’ health.

When you choose glass to work with, you have a lot of limitations. In most cases, you won’t manage a decent quality glass with UV-resistant ability without spending a lot and hampering the other features.

But the scenario is different with acrylic plastic. When building a large structure or with multiple floors, you want to have the UV-resistant feature. And acrylic can save your day very easily.

Most suppliers like UV ACRYLIC can provide you with the highest level of Uv resistant acrylic plastic at an affordable cost. So you don’t have to break your banks to get UV resistance.

Otherwise, you can use polycarbonate facade, which offers better UV resistance.

Easy to Clean

Cleaning is a major fact to consider when choosing the right material for your building. Because no matter which one you decide, you need to have a regular cleaning schedule for them.

So which one is easier than another? Well, by far, it’s acrylic. So if you’re choosing a material for a larger building, you’ll want to have an easier option and acrylic can be just that!

People Also Ask

What material will be suitable for safety glass and bulletproof glass?

Normally, we use scratch-resistant polycarbonate for safety glass and use laminated glass for bulletproof glass.

Will the plexiglass change to yellow when used outdoors?

Normally, it won’t change to yellow in 30 years. But it will be better to coat the scratch-resistant coating on the surface.

Will UVACRYLIC cut it to my size?

Yes, UVACRYLIC can cut it to size and machine it to some shapes according to the client’s drawings.

Conclusion

Now you know which material to choose for a replacement of glass. Whether it’s a large building or a window, or any application that has been used for transparent plastic or glass, acrylic can win almost any time.

So before you choose a glass or other items for your project, consider acrylic and you might find the right thing for you. And if you need more information and how acrylic plastic can fit into your project, leave a message now. And we’ll get in touch with you as soon as we can.