Double Glazing can save you money on your energy bills

During the cold winter periods winds blow from the Artic making homes extremely cold and energy bills very high.

Heat lot through windows

Heat lost through poor insulated windows accounts for over 25% of the total heat lost from your Peterborough home. Energy efficient double glazed windows and doors can cut this heat loss by up to 75%.

In an average Peterborough three bedroom detached home, according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), can be costing the homeowner over £160 a year more in heating bills, compared to energy efficient double glazed windows.

Energy efficient windows work on a principle of two sheet of glass for double glazing, or for triple glazing three pieces of glass, with a gap between each plane of glass, usually 16mm. This gap provides an insulated barrier which keeps heat in. Our double glazing is enhanced using warm-edge spacers, low emissivity gases, which fill this gap between the low-iron glass.

So why choose Posh Homes Windows and Doors?

Well, the first thing is our double glazing performance and our window energy rating.

Double Glazing Energy Ratings

Double glazing rating measured performance by two systems – U-value or Window Energy ratings (WERs). U-value assesses the effectiveness of a product on how it retains heat loss and how much heat is lost through it, as a single measure of performance.

Window Energy Ratings assess heat loss just like the U-Value but balance this heat loss against the solar gain (warmth passing into the room from the sun). It also measures additional heat loss through air penetration, it the gives double glazing ranking from A/A+ down to G using a traffic light colour system.

Meeting building regulating’s, all new double glazed windows must achieve a minimum WER ‘C’ rating or U-Value of 1.6 or less. All our double glazed windows go far beyond building regulations expectations as we only install a minimum of A-rating.

Despite high U-value on some companies triple glazing, they don’t always meet the same standard as our double glazing standards. We also offer an upgraded triple glazing windows for those who require even more thermal installation.

Triple Glazed Windows

Triple glazed windows may make more sense for those homes exposed to the colder weather however keeping the warmth in your home may also have a trade-off. The extra pane of glass used within triple glazed pane insulated unit means that less energy can pass through the window from the sun. Resulting to the opportunity to trap warmth air generated via the winter sunshine is reduced compared to our double glazed windows.

Window frame materials are less of a factor than the glazing. UPVC window frames achieve the highest energy efficiency ratings, as our UPVC window frames use multiple chambers to create barriers between the cold air outside and the warm air within your home.

Aluminium window frames are more conductive therefore make them harder to achieve the top rating. Fortunately we can still achieve this A-rating with our SMART aluminium system. Our aluminium windows are also slim-lines with greater design, flexibility and colour range.

How to stop condensation with double glazed windows

We often get asked if double glazing will stop condensation forming on windows, the answer is not entirely straight forward.

Condensation on windows is a problem in lots of Peterborough properties. A small amount of condensation is not too much to worry about, however unchecked, this build-up of moisture can lead to the formation of black mould.

This mould releases bacteria which is linked to health concerns such as asthma and breathing problems.

Double glazing can be part of the solution as long as it is correctly installed, otherwise it could be part of the problem.

Why does condensation form in windows?

When warm, moist air meets surfaces which are cooler than its dew point temperature then condensation occurs. This refers to the point on which the water vapour in the air becomes more concentrated, droplets are then formed, resulting in condensation.

This is why single glazed windows are more prone to condensation during the autumn and winter months.

How does double glazing and triple glazing reduce condensation?

This is why our energy efficient double glazed windows or triple-glazing becomes a major part of the solution. Double glazing provides two pieces of glass which create a space between the cold air outside (winter day) and the warm air (inside home).

This results is two effects, the air inside the home remains warmer allowing it to hold more water vapour. Secondly the pane of glass inside your property is also warmer due to the protection from the cold air outside your property, which is held against the outer layer of glass. Therefore the inner layer of glass is likely to remain above the dew point except on an extremely cold day.

This is why you could see two identical properties in a street, one with single glazed windows with condensation streaming down the windows, while the other with double glazing having little or no condensation  at all.

Why double glazing and triple glazing could cause condensation

The main reason for double glazing is to keep the warm air inside of your home, reducing your overall heating bills. This is achieved via energy efficient glazed units which provide a more effective seal, preventing warm air from dispensing out or cold air leaking in.

This means that while you creating moisture within your home, this moisture needs to be correctly removed via ventilation. Cooking and washing are the main contributes to high levels of moisture in your home and you need to let it out.

The importance of ventilation

There are various ways to ventilate your room whether it’s via extractor fans or as simple as opening a small window such as bathroom window. However, if this fails you may consider our window trickle vent system.

Our double glazing also comes with trickle vents, which proves a perfect solution to control a consistent and low level of air-flow within your property. These triple vents brings fresh air into your home while removing stale moisture filled air out of your home.

This is why we our one of the leading double glazing installer in Peterborough, as we will raise any issues during our surveyors inspection.