Here at Sunbeam Windows we feel it is important to improve the energy efficiency of your home. We are always being encouraged to make our home more energy efficient and installing new double glazing is a great step in improving the overall efficiency of your home. Click here for some more general tips on improving your energy efficiency.
However – beware! The industry requirement for the glass used in many double glazed units only has an energy rating of ‘F’. Would you buy a new fridge of freezer with such a low energy rating? Probably not.
That is why as Sunbeam Windows we provide a soft coat low e glass that is filled with gas argon, improving its overall energy efficiency to a rating of ‘C’. However we can also accommodate B and A rated glass too.
Low E manufacture involves the application of numerous layers of silver sandwiched between layers of metal oxide while the glass is in a vacuum. The coating is delicate and if exposed to air is subject to oxidization, so soft coat low E must always be sandwiched between two layers of glass.
Soft coat low e enables superior transmission of visible light, and features very low levels of emissivity for maximum insulation in winter winter - up to 70% less UV transmission than standard clear glass.
What this all means is that windows with low e glass reflect both light and heat. The result is that things like your furniture, draperies and carpeting don't fade due to sunlight as fast, and your house stay cooler in the summer (heat from the outside does not get in through the glass) and warmer in the winter (heat inside does not get out).
The glass you chose for your home’s windows will have a direct affect on your heating bill. The difference between one glass and another could easily be £100 saving a year (and obviously more if heating costs continue to increase).
So when considering windows and their cost, also consider how much they can save you. With a 30 year life expectancy, this can be substantial. Higher performing energy products will also provide a better Energy Performance Certificate (IPC) for your home when you sell and in turn enhance the chance of selling (and in the right market, the price too).
Simplifying the terminology, heat loss is measured in building materials by a U value. The lower the U value, the less heat is lost through it. Modern cavity walls on new homes have an almost zero U value, whilst old single glazing was about 5.6u. An ‘F’ rated double glazing can be 1.9u, whilst a ‘B’ rating is 1.1u.
Just as electrical appliances carry a rating, window glass is now rated from an ‘A’ to a ‘G’ (with ‘A’ being the most efficient).
A window's Rating is determined by a formula which takes into account its total solar heat transmittance (usually referred to as g value), U value and air infiltration. The resulting value is then placed into a band on an A-G scale. This makes the system of rating windows consistent with other products which have energy performance labels (such as washing machines, light bulbs and refrigerators), and with which the public is very familiar. In July 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) issued proposals for revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations in
