Impact Resistance

• The plastic film inside laminated glass will absorb the energy from an impact on the glass. Regular glass does not have the same energy absorption abilities, and so hard impacts will cause a hole in the glass. Laminated glass, on the other hand, will crack but will resist falling apart. This impact resistance keeps people from breaking glass to gain access to secured buildings. Replacing laminated glass that has been hit with an object does not necessarily require immediate action since the glass still is in one piece and the building's security is not compromised.
  
  

Explosions and Natural Disasters

• In the event of an explosion in or near a building, or a natural disaster such as a hurricane, the windows in a building without laminated glass will shatter. The glass shards that fly through the air from the broken windows create deadly projectiles that can seriously injure or kill anyone nearby. Laminated glass that sits in a frame will stay in place during explosions and natural disasters since the laminated layer will keep the glass shards from separating from the glass pane.
  
  

Noise Levels

• Many outside noises that you hear inside a building come through the building's glass windows. Traditional glass windows transmit sound waves well because of their lightweight and rigid form. Laminated glass, on the other hand, has a softer core in between the two pieces of glass, absorbing rather than transmitting sound waves. The ability to reduce noise benefits buildings in noisy metropolitan locations, libraries or other institutions that require a quite interior environment.
  
  

Sustainability

• Laminated glass lets light into buildings, but it also blocks harmful UV rays from entering. UV rays promote skin cancer and will fade textiles and paints inside the building. Laminated glass also does not transfer heat from sunlight like traditional glass windows do, meaning building occupants can leave window coverings open in the summer without increasing the room temperature, resulting in more people using natural light instead of turning on electric lights. The sunlight does not generate as much heat as electric lights, meaning occupants do not need to run a building's air conditioning as much.