Windows glazing is a process that secures and protects the glass in windows, greatly increasing their insulative capacity against heat and cold.
Window glazing comes in a variety of types, each offering its own benefits. Selecting the appropriate type of glazing can help reduce energy costs and boost your home’s efficiency level.
Double Glaze
Double glazed windows are insulated units consisting of two glass panes separated by a spacer. This space can either remain vacuum or filled with an inert gas such as argon or krypton, improving insulation properties and decreasing heat loss and air leakage.
Insulated windows are an excellent way to reduce your home’s energy costs. According to the Energy Saving Trust, an average detached house with A rated windows could see annual savings of up to PS2,400 in energy costs.
Australia, where summers can be brutal and winters even colder, is increasingly important to have an energy efficient home. With recent increases in energy prices, finding ways to keep your bills down has never been more crucial.
One of the most efficient ways to reduce your energy bill is installing double glazing in your home. It helps maintain a comfortable temperature inside by blocking out winter heat and letting in summer sun-rays.
Double glazing in your home can help prevent moisture buildup, as it fills the cavity between the glass and frame. A quality double glazed window should have no small gaps around its frame and be constructed from strong and long-lasting materials such as PVCu or aluminium to guarantee its performance for many years to come.
Another great advantage of double glazing is its potential to reduce noise pollution. Sound travels in waves, and when it hits glass molecules vibrate at a specific frequency.
Sound waves tend to travel away from their source, creating a problem in dense buildings such as apartments where there is often excessive noise production.
Double glazed windows can reduce sound by up to 30% compared to single glazed ones, as their glass has a lower vibration rate than its surrounding wall.
Insulated Glass Unit
Insulated glass units (IGUs) are an integral component of window energy efficiency. IGUs consist of multiple panes of glass sealed into a frame, creating an effective window system that can be utilized for double-hung windows, picture windows, casement windows or skylights.
Though more costly than single-pane units, double-pane units offer superior energy efficiency and can save you money on utility bills. Furthermore, it may increase the resale value of your home.
Insulated glass works to keep heat inside and cold out by interconnecting multiple panes of glass with an insulating gas between them. This could either be air, argon gas or a combination of both.
Double glazing, also referred to as double glazing, is a type of window glazing made up of either tempered or laminated glass that provides added durability and insulation from heat or sound transfer. Insulated windows offer better energy efficiency over longer periods and help prevent condensation on the insides of windows.
They can reduce condensation and prevent mold or mildew growth on the outside surface. Furthermore, they’re easy to clean, adding to a building’s overall aesthetic appeal.
Insulated glass units typically feature a spacer bar that separates the exterior and interior lites of the glass. Usually made out of aluminum, this spacer may also contain desiccant to lower the dew point of the insulating gas and prevent moisture from penetrating between panes.
Insulated glass typically uses either argon or krypton, though they can also be a combination of both. These gases offer greater insulation than air but come at an added cost; as a result, insulated glass may cost more than usual.
Insulated glass is more challenging to repair as the inert gas escapes, making it challenging for a glazier to refill the gap between each pane with gas again.
When installing an Intumescent Gas (IG) unit, it’s essential to select a seal with high adhesion that resists water, UV light and aging. You should opt for polyisobutylene primary seal and desiccant secondary seal; these components are key in keeping the inert gas inside the unit from escaping and moisture from entering between glass panes.
Argon or Krypton Gas
Windows are essential for keeping your home comfortable in winter and cool in the summer, so they need to be properly insulated. One way to do this is by filling them with gases such as argon or krypton.
These gasses are inert, colorless, non-toxic and non-flammable, and they work by decelerating the flow of energy between two glass panes. Being heavier than air allows them to move more slowly between panes – thus making them a superior insulator.
Argon and krypton are less likely to interact with other gases in your home, decreasing the chance of leaks or explosions. As noble gases (located at far right hand column on periodic table), they’re stable and unreactive.
Both gases share an Atomic Number of 18 – Argon has 18 and Krypton has 36. As inert, safe, and non-toxic gases, they won’t damage your furniture or belongings if there’s a leak.
Krypton is a dense gas, which helps slow thermal transfer from outside to inside a window. At 12 times denser than air, it’s more effective at keeping heat from entering your home.
Due to its density, air is easily pumped into smaller gaps between panes – such as those found in triple-pane models with small gaps (between 1/4″ and 3/8″) rather than wider double-glazed windows.
Argon gas tends to have a higher cost and availability than krypton, so you may need to replace your fills more frequently than with krypton; however, good windows made of argon should still last 20 years or more.
Argon and krypton are gases found naturally in the atmosphere. They’re odorless and non-toxic, though more rare than oxygen or nitrogen. As “noble gases,” which are inert, colorless, and non-toxic, argon and krypton have higher corrosion resistance as well as superior insulating properties compared to other gasses; making them ideal for insulate windows better.
Spacers
Spacers are an essential element of windows glazing. Made from various materials, they can improve a window’s energy efficiency and durability while controlling moisture to help reduce condensation.
Many people neglect spacers and assume they are unimportant, but they play a critical role in insulation windows and keeping them fog-free. A poorly installed spacer system can increase energy costs and make maintaining an ideal indoor temperature much more challenging.
Windows often feature spacers made of metal or other rigid materials like aluminum. These spacers conduct heat and cold from the glass, leading to condensation and mold growth.
However, modern spacers made of plastics and foam rubbers can improve the thermal efficiency of windows. Utilizing these spacers allows insulated glass to be better insulated around its edges, keeping your home warmer and more comfortable in wintertime.
These spacers feature a U-shaped shape, making them more flexible than traditional rectangular spacers. This flexibility helps improve seal longevity and gas retention since it allows the glass to flex with normal expansion and contraction during daily usage.
Warm edge spacers are designed to maintain the temperature of glass at its edge, which helps reduce condensation and boost a window’s energy efficiency.
For instance, Edgetech’s Super Spacer is an innovative spacer system designed for energy efficiency and damage resistance. These spacers feature a U-shaped design that keeps insulated glass warmer, improving your home’s energy efficiency.
The spacer is then attached to the insulating glass, so that it won’t separate from its panes during normal temperature changes. Furthermore, it’s designed to flex and absorb stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction in the unit; this helps avoid seal failure that leads to fogging.
For many years, most windows featured spacers made of metal due to its effectiveness in conducting cold air. Nowadays however, many manufacturers are choosing other materials for their spacers.