WHAT IS DOUBLE GLAZING ?

How are double glazed units structured?

Double glazed glass have two panes of glass separated by a layer of trapped air or Argon gas. The glass becomes well insulated so that little or no heat transfers between the glass. In addition to this, there is often a desiccant between the panes to absorb any stray moisture and stop fog from forming between them. The window or door glass can be clear or covered with a tinted or reflective coating.

Benefits of Double Glazing:

• Reduction in Condensation - With air or gas in between the two panes of glass in double glazed units, it helps to keep the inside pane of glass at a higher temperature eliminating condensation as it is formed by cold air meeting a warm surface. The colder outside pane of glass is shielded from the warmer inside pane by the air or gas in between the panes.
  
• Reduction in Noise - 2 panes of glass makes noise harder to filter through.
• Additional Security - With a double pane of glass, double glazing is harder to break than single glazed options.
• Decrease in Harmful UV Rays - With the extra Pane of glass to filter the UV Rays it can reduce sun damage to furniture and pictures. There are certain options of glass that are designed to help with this.
• Temperature control - Double glazing allows your home to be at a constant temperature throughout the year. Studies have shown that double glazing can reduce the heat loss to your home by 70% over single glazing options. Even in well insulated homes the heat loss reduction is still significant.

How does double glazing actually insulate?

Windows are designed to let in light while blocking air and objects from entering the house. In addition, windows provide some insulation but not much. Windows are only a few millimetres thick, heat then can easily flow through them thus making it more expensive to heat and cool your house. Double glazed windows are designed to let in light while blocking the movement of heat, turning your windows into good insulators.

Window and door glass can insulate in different ways - having two panes of glass doubles the amount of glass that heat has to get through, slowing its movement from your house. The real insulation power comes from the trapped air as mentioned above. Heat is motion in molecules - the hotter a material is, the faster the molecules move. When excited molecules bang into nearby molecules they spread the heat generated. This is called conduction. Because air molecules spread out, they do not conduct nearly as well as a solid like glass. As a result the trapped air acts as an insulator. Some heat can still flow through the air , but it moves much more slowly than it does through glass.

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