Since the public has become more environmentally aware in recent years, it has put a lot of attention to energy usage throughout the world.
One of the areas where energy usage has been thoroughly examined is in the common household. We already knew that a large portion of heat loss was due to insufficient insulation or roofing standards, but as it turns out windows also have a huge impact on heat loss within a house.
That is why energy-efficient windows have become so much more popular lately, and why we have taken the time to break down exactly what makes these windows energy-efficient.
Coating Layers
One of the ways in which both new and currently existing windows are being made to be more energy-efficient is through various glass coatings that are being applied.
With the numerous tints, glass fills, and reflective coatings, windows are able to more efficiently keep the outside temperature outside and the inside one inside. This is often used in combination with something called Low-emissivity glass which is able to block up to 90% of the sun’s rays.
Foam Versus Metal
Whereas many older windows tend to use metal as window insulation, the new energy-efficient ones instead use a 100% polymer structural foam that is able to help keep the window free of condensation.
It also helps to lower the windows U value, which similar to the R-value of other insulation, measures the heat retention efficiency of the product. The only difference is that when it comes to windows you want a lower U value, as opposed to the sought after high R-value of insulation.
More Glass
This is another area where energy-efficient windows are similar to energy-efficient insulation because in both cases, adding more of the same material can greatly help.
Many of the energy-efficient windows use multiple panes of glass in order to keep the level of heat dissipation down to an efficient level. It is becoming more and more common to see double and triple paned glass, which can end up blocking an extremely high portion of the sun’s rays.
