Glass Melting and Energy

Glass sculpture,
Bonn 2019

Glass artist David Ruth has a bad conscience when melting glass into glass art. In the twelve minute video https://www.davidruth.com/videos/1 he speaks about his glass making and the caloric energy it takes. Asked about climate issues he confesses: “It uses a lot of energy. So I don’t reconcile it”. 

I tried to estimate the cost of producting a glass sculpture of, say, 100 kilogram or 220 pounds of glass.

A study by Glass Technology Services from 2003 says in chapter two: “An efficient large glass furnace will require 1100 kWh of energy for each tonne of glass melted”. That would be 1100 kWh / 1000 kg = 110 kWh / 100 kg = 1.1 kWh / 1 kg glass. 

 

David Ruth certainly does not use continuously running nor large furnaces, so let’s assume he needs per kg glass about twice that much energy, 2 kWh for a kilo of glass or 200 kWh for the piece weighing 100 Kilograms. – If you have an electric shower at home consuming about 20 kW, you would have to shower over twenty hours to consume that much electric power. A lot.

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