How does Double Glazing Work?

Double glazed units are insulated just like the doona on your bed or fibreglass batts – if you shake up your doona, it adds air between the fillings which increases your insulation. If you squash your batts, the air is reduced and they become less of an insulator.

With double glazed units, there are two panes of glass and in between the glass units is trapped air that is often filled with argon gas. These units are sealed and arrive on-site as one unit.

In Canberra, it is important to get as much of the winter sun into your home as possible so that you receive free heating. The sun will enter your windows as shortwave and then once inside will convert to a long wave. Your heating inside your home is already a long wave.

Glass is a good heat conductor and if the window is single glazed, the heat will transfer readily to the outside. You may notice in your single glazed home that by 4 pm, the home gets cooler and you need to turn on your heating – this is because your heat from the sun is travelling back out the window and as the sun is going down, there is no more heat coming in.

With double glazing, the air trapped inside the double glazed units is a poor conductor. If you have argon, it is a viscous gas and is denser than air. It would be like a top of the range doona with lots of air pockets. The trapped air (gas) sets up insulating protection between cool air on one side and warm air on the other. This is why your home stays warm in winter.

The opposite works in summer. We recommend that once the cool night air arrives, you open all your windows and doors and trap the cool air inside. Close them before retiring for bed and the cool air will remain in your home.

We liken double glazing to an esky. If the esky has warm things inside, it will stay warm. If there are cool things inside, they will stay cool. This is the same as your home.

What does Double Glazing look like?

Double glazed windows are composed of two or more panes of glass with a air gap between them. This is then sealed with an insulated uPVC frame.

Comfort

The main benefit of double glazing is comfort

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Quiet

Acoustic glass and frames will make your home a quiet haven

Reduce Energy Costs

Save money with reduced heating and cooling usage

Custom Design

Designer windows and doors tailored to your home

Functionality

Airflow, practicality and style are all achieved with the right windows and doors

Temperature

Create consistent temperatures in your home

The Code

The National Construction Code requires us to insulate our walls, ceiling, and floors but we can still put a single piece of uninsulated glass next to those spaces and it passes the building inspection.

Double glazing provides the necessary insulation for the window and door spaces in residential and commercial buildings. Double glazing is perfect for the Canberra environment as we don’t generally get temperatures lower than minus 7 degrees. Triple glazing is considered overkill for our climate in most applications.

Double Glazing is essentially two panes of glass in an air-tight unit, with an air gap in-between, and this creates insulation for both temperature and sound.

As we heat our homes about 8 months of the year, we need to make sure that we are making the most of the free sun. Therefore, Canberra’s ideal glass unit is two panes of 4mm glass with a 16mm airgap in between, and argon filled. For elevations such as east and west, applying a low emissivity glass will help to maintain the home’s temperatures when the morning and afternoon sun is the hottest.

Double Glazing is most beneficial when paired with insulated frames. Standard double glazed aluminium will provide some benefit but will not be as good as having an insulated frame as well. Solace Creations only offers insulated frames aside from our retro-fit solution TwinGlaze.

 

Why double glaze in Canberra?

We live in one of the coldest places in Australia and yet we are still single glazing our homes.

“Compared to Australia’s other capital cities, Canberra is unique. It has the fewest average rain days each year and is the country’s third-sunniest capital, but also freezes through an average of 99 frost days and 44 fog days each year. In summer it’s much hotter than its big neighbours to the north and south, and in winter it’s significantly cooler. Sometimes it even snows.”

By insulating and sealing the whole building envelope, you will have a very comfortable home that is warm in winter, cool in summer, quiet and with no draughts. The bonus is that your energy bills will be low and our planet will benefit from the complete insulation as well as your bank account.

Energy prices are set to keep rising. In 2017, Canberra residents experienced a 19% increase in electricity and 17% increase in gas. Double glazing your windows and doors will help you to lower your bills and also provide a home that is very comfortable.

Solace Creations Double Glazing has been helping the Canberra community since 2006 to have a more comfortable home. We can show you how to manage your budget when building a new home or renovating and provide advice on the best window types and styles for your home.

Our extensive experience in both the replacement and the new home market gives you the peace of mind in knowing that your investment in double glazing will be professionally installed and built to the highest standards, giving you years of energy efficient comfortable living.

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