Energy Efficiency

Maintaining Your Energy Efficiency

Maintaining your home’s energy efficiency is one way to reduce your monthly outgoings. This can be as simple as checking your windows for draughts and replacing tired, old windows.

Homeowners who update their windows with new double glazing find their home is warmer and more comfortable. This is why double glazing is now installed as standard in all new build properties.

Energy Efficient Windows and Doors

Glazing is at the core of energy efficient windows and doors. Double, secondary and triple glazing are all used to enhance a windows insulating properties.

Designed to keep warm air inside where it belongs, energy efficient glazing prevents valuable energy from escaping through poorly insulated frames. This in turn helps reduce a homes carbon emissions as well as any costly heating bills.

This is why energy efficient double glazing is such a hot topic with UK organisations, The Energy Saving Trust and the BFRC. They continue to promote the benefits of energy efficient windows and doors, setting high standards and regulations throughout the double glazing industry.

Energy Saving Benefits:

• An Eco Friendly Home. Energy efficient windows allow you to contribute towards a greener environment
• Smaller Carbon Footprint. Using less fuel will result in less CO2 which contributes towards global warming
• A Warmer Home. Energy efficient windows will reduce heat loss, eliminating draughts and cold spots
• Greater Noise Insulation. As well as thermal insulation, energy efficient windows will also insulate your home against unwanted outside noise

How Energy Efficient Are Your Windows?

How energy efficient are your windows? All homes within the UK available to buy or rent must have an Energy Performance Certficate (EPC.) An EPC will inform you of a buildings energy efficiency by supplying it with a rating from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient.

What is Your Window Energy Rating?

The British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC) provides home owners with an energy ratings chart, ranging from A to G, with A rated uPVC windows being highly efficient. Generally, windows with a C rating or higher are seen as energy efficient.

The BFRC awards all accredited windows with an energy efficiency certificate which proves the authenticity of a window.

Window Frame Materials

uPVC and aluminium are thought to be more energy efficient than wooden windows. Wood is a natural insulator but is subject to flaws such as rotting and warp. Home owners generally avoid this high maintenance material in favour of uPVC and aluminium.

uPVC and aluminium window frames offer excellent energy efficiency and durability. They will last for many years and will never require re-painting.

Double Glazing: How Does it Reduce Heat Loss?

You may have heard of the benefits of double glazed windows, and how they can reduce heat loss within your home, but do you know how it all works?

The Science Behind Heat Loss

When molecules are heated, they move more quickly, and conduct heat to other nearby molecules by bumping into them. In a glass unit, molecules are packed together tightly, allowing heat to pass in and out of a room more easily.

Molecules in gas (air) are spread out rather thinly, and it takes much longer for heat to flow through, so the thin layer of air within a double glazed window or door, works as an excellent insulator of heat.

Double Glazed windows effectively work as two windows in one, but the panes are separated by a thin layer of air. They are just as effective as a window as their single paned counterparts, and allow light to pass through, but they have the added benefit of being energy efficient, the trapped air working as an insulator, preventing valuable heat from leaking in and out.

Double glazing can be effective in so many ways, and reducing heat loss is just one of the many benefits that it can offer.

Low E Glass

Low emissivity glass or low E glass is used to improve thermal insulation. A transparent metallic coating is used to reflect heat back into the room. This process is called solar heat gain. It works by allowing light and heat from the sun to pass through naturally.

This heating effect is dependent on the strength of the sun and how it is directed onto your property. An energy efficient window will maximise solar gain, particularly during the winter. If you are looking to enhance your windows insulation, ask your supplier about low E glass.

Your window’s size and shading can also be used to optimise solar gain. Special coatings can be applied to the face of the glazing to enhance its affects.

Thermal Spacer Bars

Additional hardware can be added to your windows to improve thermal efficiency. A thermal spacer bar is a hollow frame which separates two glass panes. It is bonded to the glass panes using a primary and secondary seal. This creates an airtight cavity which is then filled with air or gas.

The thermal spacer bar works by absorbing residual moisture within the cavity, preventing condensation. Spacer bars can greatly contribute towards a windows energy rating

Window Placement

Do you want to make your home more comfortable and cheaper to run? Good window orientation can increase the overall efficiency of your home.

The placement of your windows will determine the effectiveness of solar heat gain. For example, if you have a South facing property, then you will receive more sunlight compared to a property which is North facing.

If you have a window installed on a wall which receives a lot of sun, you will in turn enhance the amount of natural light in your property – helping you to heat your room during colder periods.

Strategically installing your windows will also help you improve your property’s ventilation and cooling properties.

The Cost of Energy Efficient Windows

To see the true cost of double glazing you can get a quote for your energy efficient windows online using our double glazing quote builder.

The best thing about our online quote builder is that you can choose exactly what type of Window Energy Rating (WER) you require for your new double glazing.

Double Glazing on The Web offers instant online quotes for either A, B or C energy rated double glazed windows. Click here to start your online quote.

Accredited Double Glazing Installers

In order to benefit from a home energy efficiency scheme, you must choose an accredited installer to ensure you get quality, energy efficient windows.

It is important that your windows comply with all currently building regulations and standards. A registered installer will be able to provide evidence of this.

Double Glazing on The Web can put you in touch with local trusted suppliers. Your local installer will provide you with a wide range of energy efficient windows.

Our wide network of reputable double glazing companies have many years experience within the industry. We put you in touch with companies you can trust.