Glossary:Glossary-Plus

Glossary: WUFI-Plus

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient

• The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) measures how well a window blocks heat from sunlight. The SHGC is the fraction of the heat from the sun that enters through a window, both directly transmitted, and absorbed and subsequently released inward.
• The SHGC replaced the shading coefficient an the standard indicator of a window‘s shading ability
• SHGC is expressed as a number between 0 and 1.
• SHGC can be expressed in terms of the glass alone or can refer to the entire window assembly.
• The lower a window's SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits.
• For incident radiation that is diffuse, the hemispherical SHGC must be used.

[[1]] [[2]] ASHRAE Handbook 2005 Fundamentals