Upgrade your existing double glazing
Are your windows 10 years or older? Chances are your double glazing is not benefitting from the use of k-glass coating on the inner pane or argon gas inside the unit between the inner and outer panes or a warm edge spacer bar on the inside perimeter of the double glazed unit.
With all these new options combined you can make a thermal improvement of 60% over your standard double glazing. These “elite“ units can be used in existing timber, pvc or aluminium windows and are also available in triple glazed options.
K-Glass explained:
This is a low emissivity coating on the inside of the unit on the inner pane of glass. This coating reflects heat back into the room whilst also letting in free heat from the sun, known as passive solar gain. By using k-glass in your windows you can achieve a Window Energy Rating (WER) and therefore exceeding the latest energy-saving building regulations.
Argon gas:
Argon is a completely different gas to the air we all breathe, which is primarily a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. Argon is naturally present in air, but when used on its own to fill windows it helps retain more heat than using air. As this technology is new, windows filled with argon can be up to 5% more expensive than windows filled with air alone. However, studies have shown that filling windows with argon rather than air can increase the efficiency of the windows by up to 30%.
This means that although the initial investment is a little more, the amount saved off heating bills will be far greater, meaning that the increased expense will pay for itself many times over the course of the lifespan of the windows. Argon gas does not leak from the windows, and will not need to be “topped up”. It also has the same properties for reducing noise as ordinary air, and due to the benefits of using the gas, argon is likely to be the default choice for windows in years to come as companies strive to produce ever more energy efficient windows.
Warm edge spacer bar:
Warm Edge spacer bars insulate the edges of a sealed unit and keep the panes of glass apart. Traditionally spacer bars were aluminium, which is highly conductive to heat allowing it to pass through the window. Warm Edge spacer bars like SWISSPACER are made of an insulating plastic composite material that becomes a barrier to heat loss.
Warm edge spacers reduce the amount of heat lost through the sealed unit. They keep the edge of the sealed unit warm, hence the name "warm edge". As a result less heat is lost through the windows and heating bills are lower.