05-23-2018, 09:01 AM
If you’re looking to improve the thermal efficiency of your home, then you’ll want to ensure that your windows are up to the required standard. Windows are a notorious weak-point in many buildings, by simple virtue of the fact that they’re thinner and more heat-conductive than the surrounding walls.
Windows come in a number of different forms. Some of these differences can boost the insulating performance of the window – double-glazing, for instance, sees two panes of glass placed parallel to one another on either side of a layer of vacuum, inert gas or dehydrated air. This significantly increases the window’s ability to retain heat.
uPVC
uPVC is an inexpensive plastic that’s found in white window frames across the country. It offers excellent insulation and demands relatively little care and attention. Vinyl Windows tends to cost far less than aluminium or timber, and is very easy to maintain.
That said, when we consider that these materials contribute to the value of the property they’re installed into, this economy often proves a false one in the long term. While uPVC might not require cleaning and re-finishing in the same way that wood does, it’s got a much shorter shelf-life, and will not boost the value of the property in quite the same way.
Another significant weakness of uPVC is that it’s significantly weaker than the other materials. This means that plastic frames must be made much thicker than wooden or aluminium frames in order to offer the same degree of performance. The result is a window with a much smaller amount of glass, which in turn will reduce the amount of light in the interior of the building.
Aluminium
The chief virtue of aluminium is its strength. This allows for a slimmer frame, and a greater glass surface area.
Another advantage of aluminium is its durability. Once it’s been powder coated a certain colour, it will be well-protected against rust and discolouration. Moreover, you won’t need to re-apply the finish every few years in the same way that you might with a wooden window.
Being recyclable, aluminium is far more environmentally friendly than uPVC. The energy required to produce an aluminium window is far below the cost of the raw materials, which makes it an excellent choice for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Aluminium has considerable downside, though, and that’s its weakness as an insulator. If you’ve ever held your bare hands against a metal surface on an especially cold day, you might recognise this phenomenon. In modern frames, however, this problem is addressed with the help of a layer of insulating material on the interior of the frame.
Windows come in a number of different forms. Some of these differences can boost the insulating performance of the window – double-glazing, for instance, sees two panes of glass placed parallel to one another on either side of a layer of vacuum, inert gas or dehydrated air. This significantly increases the window’s ability to retain heat.
uPVC
uPVC is an inexpensive plastic that’s found in white window frames across the country. It offers excellent insulation and demands relatively little care and attention. Vinyl Windows tends to cost far less than aluminium or timber, and is very easy to maintain.
That said, when we consider that these materials contribute to the value of the property they’re installed into, this economy often proves a false one in the long term. While uPVC might not require cleaning and re-finishing in the same way that wood does, it’s got a much shorter shelf-life, and will not boost the value of the property in quite the same way.
Another significant weakness of uPVC is that it’s significantly weaker than the other materials. This means that plastic frames must be made much thicker than wooden or aluminium frames in order to offer the same degree of performance. The result is a window with a much smaller amount of glass, which in turn will reduce the amount of light in the interior of the building.
Aluminium
The chief virtue of aluminium is its strength. This allows for a slimmer frame, and a greater glass surface area.
Another advantage of aluminium is its durability. Once it’s been powder coated a certain colour, it will be well-protected against rust and discolouration. Moreover, you won’t need to re-apply the finish every few years in the same way that you might with a wooden window.
Being recyclable, aluminium is far more environmentally friendly than uPVC. The energy required to produce an aluminium window is far below the cost of the raw materials, which makes it an excellent choice for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Aluminium has considerable downside, though, and that’s its weakness as an insulator. If you’ve ever held your bare hands against a metal surface on an especially cold day, you might recognise this phenomenon. In modern frames, however, this problem is addressed with the help of a layer of insulating material on the interior of the frame.