Glazing 101 – The Basics Of Double Glazing

The choice of windows and doors are quite important when it comes to building a new house or renovating one. Understanding the basics of double glazing will help you make the right choices.

Different types of windows are designed to be suitable for different purposes. But today, modern trends have led to building designers and draftsmen adding internal windows, glass ceilings, and entire walls and doors, all made of glass. For such buildings, people are mostly concerned about how expensive it would be to keep the interior warm, as glass allows heat to transfer out of the building easily. Such fears are really not necessary, with the technology of double glazing.

Double glazing offers flexibility, and thus, several options for windows of large sizes and distinct shapes and positions. In this post, we will be introducing glazing to guide your decisions when you are choosing the doors and windows for your next building project or house extension.

Introducing double glazing

Glass, which has been used in windows’ design over time, has been identified as a poor insulator due to its thickness. Glass windows are just a few millimetres thick. Hence, they cannot prevent the passage of hot and cold air. The implication of this is poor climate control and high heating costs. To fix this problem, experts came up with the double-glazing technology.

With double glazing, two panes of glass are combined with an air gap in between, and this arrangement improves the insulating property of the glass. Thus, the interior temperature can be better regulated. Users of the double glazing technology end up spending less on heating and cooling during winter and summer respectively.

How double glazing works

There is always a heat flow, via the weakest parts of a building, when there is a difference in the interior and exterior temperatures. Such weak parts include uninsulated ceilings, floorboard cracks, doors, and windows. The flow of heat is inward during the summer, and outward during the winter.

The fundamental role of double glazing is to reduce heat flow while improving the energy efficiency of your home. The windows offer increased insulation and thickness due to the combination of the two panes of glass, thus reducing the possibilities of heat flow. Also, there is a form of barrier, provided by the air gap between the two panes, which traps the outgoing or incoming heat. A hot material has rapidly moving molecules and will spread heat faster. Since air molecules are well spread out, they spread heat at a slower speed compared to the molecules of a solid mass (e.g., bricks or timber). Thus, the presence of the air gap ensures that heat doesn’t pass through the window.

Can double glazing work on existing windows?

Through the process of retrofitting, double glazing can be applied to several existing windows. This involves fitting an extra pane of glass to the outside of the window, although it is expensive and gives a new appearance to your building. The usual recommendation by glazers is a complete replacement of the window unit – with the frame and a new double glazed unit. While the costs do not differ significantly, the outcome is a brand-new and long-lasting window.

When renovating old homes, double glazing is a great choice, but you need to pay attention to other sources of heat loss from cracks or gaps in floorboards and under doors.

Is double glazing expensive?

How much you will spend on double glazing depends on your choice of frames, the product quality, and the type of glazing you prefer. Choosing between double glazing and single glazing is easier when you consider how helpful the former can be in saving energy bills. So think of the long-term costs of home renovations, not just initial building costs. In new home projects or renovations, it is essential that you go for the best fittings and technology that will improve your lifestyle. And double glazing affords your home improved energy efficiency and long-term comfort.

Consider double glazing as an investment for your new home or extension – one that offers minimised ecological marks and reduced expenses as gains.