The Cold Facts - Double Glazing
The Cold Facts – Double Glazing
The problem with advertising is that so much of it is worth what we pay for it, that is, nothing at all. It is probably wise to turn our minds off to some of it. On the other hand, some advertised facts can be very useful. For example, in Melbourne there is a lot of talk about double glazing and its benefits. Some people right now might be saying things like; ‘this is just one more way to sell glass”. It’s true. There is twice as much glass in double glazing compared to what most of us live with in Melbourne. The small truth in such a statement belies the facts. That second piece of glass is the money glass! It is the one that pays you back so handsomely. Then people say; ‘Yeah, but what about the aluminium window frame? Doesn’t it conduct the heat through anyway?’ The answer to this one is that it does, but only when there is no thermal block built into the aluminium frame. Modern aluminium designs are very efficient indeed.
You might wonder how it is that so few windows in Melbourne use double glazing if it is so good for us. The answer to that question may be similar to the answer to this question; ‘why did people one hundred years ago use wood for their energy needs?’ The answer to both questions is that it was cheap and easy. Today limits on the use of wood in cities and the cost of wood effectively prohibit its use. By comparison other energy sources like gas and electricity (mainly from coal) are easy and still pretty cheap. It has been the very cheapness of fossil fuels and wood before them that has allowed us to keep our single layer of glass and hardly even think about it. Things are changing. Whatever the causes might be we all know that energy costs are going up. We also know that building regulations are being beefed up to require new homes to be more energy efficient than before. Double glazing is one clear way to achieve this because it is so efficient at stopping energy loss. Governments and building regulators know this.
How would you feel if your home rarely needed any heating or cooling? Most of us can see that the world is in some trouble with air quality leading to greenhouse warming, rising sea levels, changing climates and whatever follows for us. So, what of double glazing? If you bother to go on-line and look around at virtually any building in the colder regions of the world you will be looking at double or perhaps triple glazing in those windows. Why do relatively poor communities in northern China, for example, use double glazing? It is not because they are rich. It is because they cannot afford not to do so. Double glazing reduces heat loss in winter and reduces heat gain in summer very efficiently and cost effectively. With double glazing in your home you will achieve the same thing; fewer days and nights each year where you will need to heat or cool your home.
Luckily we in Melbourne are fast learners. We are getting the point about double glazing. Finally there are as many people looking at double glazing for its huge energy saving benefits as there are for its noise suppressing qualities. Oh, and by the way, when you save on energy costs it means your house is virtually guaranteed to be healthier and more comfortable .
