While people love to joke about the effects of global warming, it’s hard to deny that the weather is changing. We’re seeing more weather at both extremes, with warmer summers, and colder winters. Most older homes aren’t equipped to deal with this kind of extreme weather, and homeowners are feeling the effects of the weather in their wallets, as their heating bills skyrocket.
The quickest and easiest solution to the problem of energy efficient homes is to fit double glazing, and insulation. Some older homes may already have double glazing, but could see large benefits if they upgraded from an older design to more modern windows.
Nottingham council recently ran a campaign to encourage home owners to upgrade to more energy efficient windows, and to save energy in other ways, and other councils are following suit.
The thought of upgrading windows might seem strange, but there have been a lot of improvements in the technology used to make double glazed windows, as Nottingham council were quick to point out.
For example, modern double glazed windows use inert gasses such as argon or xenon in between the panes. These are much more efficient than normal air when it comes to trapping heat. Also, modern windows use energy efficient, Low-E glass. This glass has an invisible coating of metal oxide on one of the panes. The metal oxide allows heat and sunlight to pass through it and enter the house, but reduces the amount of heat leaving the house.
Another recent innovation is “warm edge” spacers. Double glazed windows have a small spacer that keeps the two panes apart. In older windows, these spacers were often made of metal. However, metal conducts heat fairly well, so it is not an ideal choice. More modern windows use other materials for their spacers.
The energy efficiency ratings commonly seen on appliances can also be seen on double glazing. Most modern double glazing installations can be considered to be worthy of a “B” rating at the very least. There are “A” rated double glazing panes available, and some companies also produce triple glazing, which would be suitable for areas that are extremely cold, or where noise pollution may be a problem.
An owner of a typical three bedroom home can expect to save more than £100/year just by switching to double glazing. The savings can be even higher in areas where gas is expensive, and may also be higher for homes that are located in cold areas, or homes that are exposed to high winds.
Taking the step to invest in modern double glazing may seem intimidating at first. The up-front cost of getting new double glazed windows can look prohibitively high, but the energy savings, and the increased comfort, offered by modern double glazing makes it a wise investment. At current energy prices it may seem like it would take a long time to pay off the cost of double glazing, but energy prices increase frequently, so the investment should pay for itself more quickly than you might expect.
This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Stormclad, expert suppliers of windows Nottingham. James writes on subjects related to home improvements and energy efficiency.
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Double glazing windows and doors are energy efficient and help to cut power bills. So it’s the best option of you are looking forward to installing new windows and doors.
We agree with the fact that double glazing is a good and efficient solution to keep warm and save money. Moreover you can install steel windows in your house : they are thermally efficient, brings security and are very modern ones and look very good.
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