More comfort, lower energy costs – enjoy while saving it by UPVC windows

The „comfort factor“ for your home Houses and homes are regarded as a person‘s „third skin“. We spend more than 90% of our lives in closed rooms. A healthy indoor climate and cosiness are essential for our feeling of well-being.

Windows are an important „comfort factor“, with a decisive effect on the indoor climate and the energy balance. Upvc windows innovative window constructions are not only the ideal solution for passive houses, but also for all old and new buildings.

Perfect heat protection and an ideal indoor climate as a result of triple glazing.

Warm surfaces create a pleasant environment. This is where upvc triple-glazed window systems are at their best: their good insulation properties ensure that the surface temperature of the frame and the glass pane is closer to that of the indoor air. This prevents the creation of a cooling veil, creating a warm and cosy space, even in the proximity of the window.

Saving energy – even with large windows
You do not have to do without large windows. The high insulation properties of the upvc window systems with triple glazing allow you to have up to 40% more glass surface for the same heating costs.


PASSIVE HOUSE – SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT

Both in winter and in summer, a passive house will ensure a constant, cosy temperature without using a traditional heating or air-conditioning system. It is suficient to utilise the existing heat from solar radiation through the windows and the heat given off by appliances and residents, as an energy-saving house needs only 10% of the energy required to heat a conventional house.

This results in an annual heating energy requirement of up to 15 kWh/m2a; the total energy requirements including hot water and electricity) are less than 120 kWh/m2a for a passive house. The heating load of a passive house is at most 10 W/m2, resulting in a heating load of about 300 Watt for a room measuring

30m2. As an example, a single tea light gives off 20 Watt of heat. This would mean that 10 tea lights would sufice to heat 30m2 in an energy-saving house. These extraordinary savings are based on the two principles of „avoiding heat loss“ and „optimising heat gains“.

Increasing cosiness

The high level of insulation ensures that the heat remains inside and that all surfaces remain evenly warm. This means that a passive house has no asymmetrical radiation (secondary radiation) from the external walls, which also means that there are no draughts. Conversely, the heat remains outside during summer, preventing the house from overheating. This ensures that a passive house offers a consistently comfortable indoor

climate all year round – ensuring a high degree of cosiness and comfort for the residents. In addition, passive houses make use of highly eficient ventilation systems, which prevents the formation of mould and dust and the resulting allergies.

Cost savings and environmental protection

The energy savings of up to 90% for passive houses minimise the heating costs and thus the CO2 emission. In comparison to a conventional house, an average of 4000 kg of greenhouse-relevant carbon dioxide are avoided each year. This approximately corresponds to driving 27000 km in a 6-litre vehicle. By building an energy-eficient house, you will thus make a lasting contribution towards climate protection, while at the same time saving limited energy resources such as petroleum or natural gas.

uPVC Windows- What to look for:

Given the high price of fuel and the expectations that this mean-price is going to climb even higher over the coming months and years, it is important that we consider any and all ways to cut down fuel consumption in our homes.  By installing uPVC windows, a  homeowner has the  opportunity to obtain an  energy efficient uPVC double glazing window unit that will improve the thermal capacity of the home and cut down on fuel consumption. There is undoubtedly a double glazing cost that has to be taken into account and as there are many different types of these windows on the market,  it is important to purchase a quality product. In order to do that it helps to understand what is meant by window insulation, what units are used to measure window efficiency and what symbols to look out for on quality windows.

With regard to materials in general, the resistance of that material to heat loss is called its R-value and this unit is suitable for measuring the insulation capacity of materials that make up walls and roofs for example. However because windows have to allow light through them, they interact very differently with the exteriorenvironment than solid objects such as walls do. For this reason a better measurement of the energy efficiency of windows is what is called the U-factor, which measures the rate that heat is transferred through the window unit. A simple guide to help you remember the difference between the R-value of a material and the U-factor, is that the higher the R-value the better the energy efficiency of the material and the lower the U-factor, the better its insulation properties.

There are other terms that may be quoted when you are researching for a suitable type of PVC window for your home. These include:

• Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: This is the term used to describe the measurement of how capable a product is at blocking the sun’s heat. This value will be lower in a product that is good at blocking heat.

• Air Leakage: Most products allow a certain amount of air to be transmitted through them and with regard to windows and other objects that contain openings that need to be sealed when they are closed, this is certainly the case. The lower the air leakage value, the better the window is at blocking air from getting through. Presently there is no official requirement on manufacturers to display this measurement.

• Visible Transmittance: This calculates the ability of the product to let light through. The higher this value is, the better the window is at letting light in.

• Condensation Resistance: This value calculates how good the product is at deterring the production of condensation and the greater the value the better the product is in this field.

When you are considering any or all of the above terms and their values, you should remember that the value should be relevant to the entire uPVC window unit and not simply the glazing. Having uPVC windows with excellent glazing is of little comfort if the frames and seals and other components are not up to the task.