Everyone knows that energy-saving double-glazed windows are the key to keeping your house or apartment warm. But few buyers know that the energy efficiency of double-glazed windows is not only glass, but also various technological innovations that make the window invulnerable to the cold. One such improvement that makes a window more energy efficient is a warm composite spacer. Let's figure out why it is needed and how it works in double-glazed windows of the X-ONE line from the Russian Glass Company.
Experts from the Russian Glass Company note that maximum energy saving parameters can be achieved through three main points:
- these are energy-saving glasses (we have already written about them - X-ONE - a new line of double-glazed windows with superpowers from the Russian Glass Company ),
- filling the glass unit with inert gas argon,
- use of a warm composite spacer frame in a double-glazed window.
Why a spacer frame in a plastic window?
Glass and inert gas make it possible to warm the entire structure of the double-glazed window as a whole, and the warm spacer frame is responsible for the edge zone of the double-glazed window. In professional terms, the edge zone is the most vulnerable - a “cold bridge” is formed here. But in fact, everyone knows what it is: in cold or frosty weather, the window freezes along the edge - condensation or ice forms, and, what is most unpleasant, they arise from the inside, in the room.
Photo: condensation around the perimeter of the double-glazed window confirms that the aluminum spacer frame is the weakest link in the double-glazed window. This is not only not aesthetically pleasing, but also indicates that your window is simply losing heat. To prevent this from happening, a “warm” frame is inserted into double-glazed windows of the best quality.
Other materials
The following materials are also used in the manufacture of spacer frames:
- Zinc coated steel, which provides maximum protection against external cold. The flexibility of the metal allows you to work without expensive professional tools, and stresses do not form at the bend and cracks do not form;
- Plastic. The use of a plastic spacer frame is justified if it is necessary to obtain a lightweight structure. In terms of strength and rigidity, the polymer is inferior to metals;
- PVC. Do not confuse ordinary plastic with PVC. Polyvinyl chloride is a more technologically advanced material, the characteristics of which are closer to metals than to polymers. It blocks external cold well, does not deform or crack when exposed to temperature, and does not become brittle under sunlight.
Regular or warm spacer?
However, the frames can also be different - their quality and the technologies used differ. Aluminum frames are the most common on the market, but they are not exactly “warm”. And in the double-glazed windows of the Russian Glass Company X-ONE, polypropylene frames are used. What is their difference?
Photo: aluminum spacer frame In cold weather, a decrease in the temperature of the inside of the glass leads to condensation around the perimeter of the window, profiles and window sills become wet. And at low air temperatures outside the window, condensate freezes with the formation of frost and ice, especially in the lower part of the window. We think almost everyone has seen this on a double-glazed window at home.
Photo: “cold bridge” with an aluminum spacer frame This happens because it is the metal aluminum frame that becomes the “cold bridge” - due to the high thermal conductivity of the metal, the temperature of the inner surface of the glass unit in the area of contact with the window frame profile is lower than in the central part of the glass unit.
The solution is to use a “warm” PVC spacer frame. The modern warm edge spacer is made of hard plastic and high quality stainless steel. Its special design and material give the frame high frame strength and a very low thermal conductivity coefficient - PVC has a thermal conductivity coefficient 100 times lower than aluminum.
A big plus is also that such a frame can bend. Thus, a solid structure is obtained along the entire perimeter of the glass unit. Other frames are often assembled at corners, i.e. First, the frame is cut, and then assembled into a double-glazed window using corners. The disadvantage of this method of assembling a double-glazed window is the risk of freezing at the junction of the cut frame and the corner, as well as increased production time, the appearance of dust and dirt inside the double-glazed window.
Photo: a warm spacer frame will make the window warmer
Modern energy-saving windows
September 27, 2012
Evolution of double glazing
The classic window design involved simply fixing the glass into the frame. The main disadvantage of this design is its weak tightness, and as a result, blowing through the windows. Leaky fastening of the glass led to cold air being blown into the space between the glass, condensation forming on the glass and freezing. Everyone probably remembers the patterns on the glass and the windows sealed around the perimeter.
1865, Germany
Two glasses welded together - the world's first patented double-glazed window
1938, USA
The invention of soldered lead double-glazed windows greatly simplified the production process
1950, Germany
Double-glazed windows received a modern design with an aluminum spacer, a drying agent and elastic seals in 1950
1970, Germany
Since 1970, double-glazed windows have acquired a modern design with double sealing
The problem of heat loss in buildings
The problem of economical use of energy is especially acute today - according to expert estimates, up to 40% of heat is simply lost in our buildings, and about 50% of the loss occurs through windows!
Look at the picture of the house taken through a thermal imager:
Thermal Imager Normal View
Yellow, red and white show areas of heat loss. All fires occur in old windows. If you look closely, only two windows do not have yellow, red and white. First floor, two right windows - ordinary plastic windows.
An analysis of heat consumption in Russia shows that houses consume 3 times more energy than, for example, in cold Sweden. All civilized countries are making every effort to develop modern energy-efficient construction. This is the only way to reduce costs. In the US, with a much warmer climate in 2003, 80% of windows had energy-efficient glass installed. In Germany, 100% of all windows are installed with energy-saving technologies.
For example: Berlin building codes (average temperature in January? 2°С) provide for the installation of windows with a heat transfer resistance coefficient of 0.7 m2°С/W, while in Russia the building requirements for Murmansk (-27°С), Novosibirsk (-39 °C) and Surgut (-36°C) - 0.62 m2°C/W, and only for Yakutsk (-54°C) this coefficient is 0.78 m2°C/W.
The R-value is a measure of a window's ability to prevent heat transfer to the outdoors. The higher its value, the warmer the windows.
By the way, Moscow is the coldest capital in the world. The average temperature in January is -?14°C. Energy saving requirements for Moscow (0.53 m2°C/W), unfortunately, are significantly lower than in the same warm Berlin.
The opposite problem - remember the extremely hot summer of 2010 - can also be solved with the help of high-quality windows.
How can we achieve warmth and savings in winter and coolness in summer in our difficult climatic conditions?
You need to understand that windows cannot heat, they retain heat and have a “thermos effect.” Technologies for combating extreme cold exist, but they are usually used in other areas - aircraft construction and astronautics. When you fly on an airplane, the temperature outside is usually below -50°C, but the window glass in the cabin is not icy, and you are not cold.
All these technologies have now been implemented for windows. Such double-glazed windows, designed for the most extreme operating conditions, are called thermal units. They concentrate all the latest achievements in the field of heat conservation and reflection of solar energy.
Heat loss through a window directly depends on its area. The glass unit makes up approximately 80% of the area of each window. It is on the quality and properties of the double-glazed window that heat retention most strongly depends.
Application of energy-saving glasses
Energy-saving properties of glass are imparted by applying low-emissivity optical coatings to its surface. These coatings allow short-wave solar radiation to pass into the room, but prevent long-wave thermal radiation from heating devices from leaving the room.
The use of double-glazed windows with i-glass allows not only to significantly increase indoor comfort, but also to reduce heat loss by more than 10 times. During the heating season, savings from one medium-sized window with i-glass is about 120 kg of liquid fuel. It is not difficult to calculate the effect of installing such windows in a large house.
Another advantage is that the temperature on the surface of a double-glazed window with i-glass is always positive, which eliminates the possibility of condensation forming on the glass, that is, such windows do not fog up.
There is no need to worry that i-glass will darken the room. An assessment of transparency on a scale from 0 (black) to 100 (neutral) shows that for a regular double-glazed window this coefficient is at the level of 99, and with i-glass it is about 98, i.e. it is impossible to externally distinguish a double-glazed window with i-glass - it is exclusively transparent.
Distance frame with thermal break
Air perfectly prevents heat transfer - for this purpose, one or two air chambers are made in the double-glazed window. The coldest point of a double-glazed window is always the place where the glass is glued through the spacer aluminum frame (or spacer).
Aluminum is one of the few materials that has very high thermal conductivity, and in this case, cold conductivity. Because of this (plus the air inside the glass unit below is colder than at the top), the glass unit begins to cool down and fog up not somewhere in the center, but precisely from below along the frame, where the coldest place is located (edge zone).
Why then are the spacers made of aluminum and not plastic? Plastic has a much lower thermal conductivity and fogging will only occur at significantly lower temperatures.
The use of aluminum is justified primarily due to the high adhesion of the surface - it sticks very well to glass. Also, with a significant decrease in temperature, the change in size of glass and aluminum is approximately the same, which prevents the glass unit from unsticking. Plastic spacers are available, but their use in our climate is impossible with a long warranty on double-glazed windows. Imagine: a double-glazed window in the window of a house in Spain has come unglued and lost its seal. No one will notice this - there is a different, much warmer climate there. And now let’s mentally move to Russia: the first winter is coming...
The ideal solution is to use combined spacer frames - their sides are made of stainless steel (for better bonding with glass), and the middle - according to the principle of a thermal bridge - is made of plastic. Such spacers are expensive, but they prevent glass units from freezing and provide an extremely long service life. The warranty period for such products is 20 years.
Inert gas argon inside the glass unit
Filling the glass unit with inert gas (argon) increases its thermal efficiency. The additional effect from the use of gas usually does not exceed 5–10% increase in energy savings, and the use of argon is justified only in double-glazed windows designed for the most severe climatic operating conditions.
A thermal unit is a glass unit with special properties: frost-resistant, energy-saving (with a silver low-emission coating), with a spacer frame with a thermal break (TGI). It is also possible to fill it with argon.
What happens during severe frosts
Wooden window
Leaky fastening of glass leads to cold air blowing in, condensation and freezing.
Window with regular double glazing
Aluminum frames and plain glass in a regular double-glazed window are conductors of cold and cause glass fogging from inside the room.
Window with thermal package
The thermal package completely eliminates freezing and fogging of the window and ensures absolute transparency of the glass in the most severe frosts.
Additional heat package options
Thermal packages can be equipped with multifunctional glass. The use of such double-glazed windows is relevant for sharply continental climates, when winters are very cold and summers are hot. Multifunctional glass not only has energy-saving properties, but also can keep you cool.
Technically, this occurs by reflecting some of the solar energy from the outer glass. Multifunctional glass reflects more than 20% of solar thermal energy and additionally saves both heat and cold air during air conditioning (like a thermos), thereby allowing you to save on both heating and air conditioning. It would be more correct to say that multifunctional glass most effectively preserves the microclimate set in the apartment.
Thermal package is the best choice!
- Thermal packages retain heat well and eliminate drafts. The use of heat packs is recommended for our region and necessary for the conditions of the Far North.
- Heating packages save up to 70% of the money spent on heating costs.
- Thermal packages provide absolute protection against freezing and fogging of glass.
- Thermal packages with multifunctional glass protect the house from excess solar heat by reflecting it.
- Thermal packages with multifunctional glass keep cool during air conditioning, reducing the load on the air conditioner, thereby saving energy and increasing the service life of expensive equipment.
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Colored spacers
In addition to preventing the glass unit from freezing, the polypropylene frame has another advantage: it can have different colors. This means you will have a more beautiful window. In the X-ONE window line, polypropylene frames are available in different colors: black, light gray, grey, light brown, dark brown, white.
Photo: a window with a warm white spacer frame will decorate any home. But if you want a really warm window, then you need to choose windows that meet several requirements at once.
How to choose really warm windows?
- High-quality energy-saving glass with enhanced thermal insulation properties. Energy-saving glass has a special low-emission coating of silver ions, which reflects thermal radiation from batteries and radiators back into the room;
- The inert gas is argon. It allows you to slow down the air circulation inside the glass unit and reduces the cooling of the entire chamber. In X-ONE windows, which are produced on an automatic line, the glass chamber is completely sealed. Argon does not leave the chamber, its losses are no more than 1% per year;
- “Warm” spacer frame that prevents the edges of the glass unit from icing;
- The use of a one-piece bent frame in double-glazed windows ensures greater tightness and reliability of the double-glazed window.
Choose real warm windows with X-ONE double-glazed windows from the Russian Glass Company. Contact the company's partners, they will select for you an individual solution specifically tailored to your needs, and you will be sure that your windows fully meet the latest technologies.
