Tinted float is produced by adding metal oxides during float glass production. The most common colours are grey, bronze, green and blue. Apart from its function in an aesthetic sense, tinted float is also used to reduce solar heat gain, UV and glare inside a building.

Tinted float glass achieves its performance by absorbing solar energy and so is sometimes referred to as heat absorbing glass. This heat absorbing quality means the glass is thermally stressed so some thicker or darker products may need to be toughened to avoid thermal stress breakage.

Tinted float can be processed into heat strengthened, toughened, laminated, curved glass and Insulating Glass Units.