Are You Insulated?

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Improving the insuiating properties of the frame—The insulating properties of the frame, and sashes themselves become important and can help increase the overall insulating effectiveness and prevent condensation arising from thermal bridging. Solid metal frames conduct heat quickly and should be avoided unless they contain a thermal break. Vinyl frames have the advantage of low maintenance in the short run, but their long-term durability is unknown. Wooden frames provide the best all-round ecological solution if the timber is well seasoned in the fiat place and is kept protected.

Improving the insulating properties of the gap between panes — The insulating layer between the two panes of glass can be improved either by creating a vacuum between the two layers of glass or by substituting a light gas, such as argon or krypton, for the existing air. Producing a vacuum is an ideal way of cutting out the conduction between the two panes of glass. in practice this is difficult to attain acid is only possible in factory sealed glass envelopes that are expensive and limited in size. However, factory sealed units containing argon or krypton are becoming more easily available.

There are three ways to add double glazing to existing housing:

Secondary glazing — This is a second pane of glass or plastic, either fixed or openable, that is installed oil the inside of the existing window. Increasingly these systems have come to look like a second internal window.

Sealed units—These consist of two panes of glass that are sealed in a workshop or factory with the use of a separating edging strip. These units can then be used to replace the panes of glass in the sashes or fixed windows. Thicknesses of these vary from about 1/2 " to 1", giving a choice of the thinner units to fit narrower rower sash or mullion width.

Replacement windows — These are whole windows that replace the existing window, frame and all, incorporating sealed units.

The three most important considerations are:

(1) the state of the existing windows and whether double glazed units can be incorporated into the existing sashes;
(2) the aesthetic or architectural quality of the existing windows;
(3) cost.

Your windows may be in a poor state of repair, being partly rotten, if wooden, or corroded if metal. The decision whether to replace them completely or repair can be a difficult one, but ultimately the expenditure and savings in terms of energy, money, time, and materials need to be balanced up. Although almost any timber window can be repaired (and this should be the preferred option), it is sometimes the most sensible step to start again, if you can considerably increase the insulating value of the window by doing so. What will often be the deciding factor is the aesthetic quality of the existing windows compared with that of any replacement.

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