Which way around should the inner pane of glass go in my oven door?

Question

I removed the inner pane of my oven door in order to clean it. But I did not take care to note which way around it was, because it didn't occur to me in time that this might be a relevant concern. One side of the pane has "LOW-E" printed on it, along with a symbol that could be a letter "C", a letter "G", or a circular arrow. I understand that the words "LOW-E" refer to some kind of special coating.

The words "LOW-E" cannot actually be seen when the pane is in the door, because it is hidden by the frame provided by the oven door. But if the oven door were entirely see-through, which way around should the pane be?

1. The words "LOW-E" should appear the right way around to a person standing outside the oven and looking through the oven door to the inside.
2. The words "LOW-E" should appear the right way around to a theoretical tiny person standing inside the oven and looking through the oven door to the outside.

Answer 1

Low-e glass has a special coating which should be on the inside of the glazed unit to prevent it from being damaged or reacting with chemicals etc. If you hold a match up to a single pane the low-e side will have a different coloured reflection, so it would make sense to install the glass with the protected surfaces in the middle (facing inwards).

I'm assuming here of course that the coating is just on one side. With this being a specialist type of material I doubt if double coated glass would be on the inside or the outside of consumer equipment.

Answer 2

I decided to put the pane in and use it. I put it in so that the words "LOW-E" were the right way around, i.e. in accordance with option (2).

I have used the oven to cook 3 meals since doing this, in each case setting a temperature of around 200 centigrade. Nothing untoward has happened. Based on this, I conclude that either (2) is the correct answer, or it doesn't actually matter very much which way around the pane is installed.

Answer 3

I'm glad I came across this question because I cleaned my oven this afternoon and have spent half the afternoon wondering which way round the glass goes!!😡 In the end I opted for your choice option 2, because it was very hard for me to distinguish between the shiny side of the glass and the dull side. However..I have now looked at the glass in my top oven. Why didn't I think of this in the first place?🙄This oven has never been used since I bought the cooker, so in theory the glass should be the right way around. It turns out the 'Low E' is the same way round as the glass in my main oven, so option 2 is correct!! Panic over lol.. 🤣