Intelligent Glazing

A Spotlight on Intelligent Glazing for your Windows, Doors & Conservatory Roofs

Double Glazed and Triple Glazed glass units are also referred to as Insulated Glass Units or IGU’s.

Although the glass forms the main element of an IGU, an improved specification would normally include argon gas fill and warm edge spacer bar.

Most IGU’s now come with an argon gas cavity fill as opposed to natural air and this comes as standard on all Definitive Collection products. The argon gas is inert, clear, non-toxic and odourless and offers better thermal values as the argon has lower thermal conductivity in other words it reduces the heat escaping. Other gases less commonly used because of their cost include Xenon and Krypton Gas.

Other advancements in technology include the warm edge spacer bar that is visible around the inside perimeter of the IGU, normally black in colour this has replaced the more traditional aluminium bar. The warm edge bar helps better insulate the edge of the IGU and forms the cavity width between the two or three panes of glass. Other benefits to warm edge spacer bar include less condensation around the perimeter and improved acoustic performance.

Choosing the correct glazing to suit your home and busy lifestyle can be a minefield of technical data and product options. A Definitive Collection installer will match the glazing specification and performance to your specific needs. Many considerations should be given to the glazing with the main ones being listed below:

• Energy Efficient A, A+ & A++ options (energy ratings are a calculation using both the window profile and glass specification – to squash the myth there is no such thing as ‘A’ rated glass on it’s own.
• Solar Control (specialist glazing)
• Light Transmission (specialist glazing)
• Easy or self clean (specialist glazing)
• Privacy (specialist glazing)
• Noise reduction (specialist glazing usually involving laminated glass)
• Safety (specialist glazing usually toughened or laminated)
• Size & Weight
• Decorative Aesthetics (specialist glazing)

High performance intelligent glazing is tailored to suit your top priorities but rarely does it include everything from the list above. Triple Glazing is on the increase because of the improved thermal performance (there is usually around 30% improvement over double glazing) with energy efficiency being the top reason for upgrading windows and doors. The surcharge for triple glazing should easily pay for itself over the lifetime of the windows. If you live in a busy and noisy location then special acoustic laminated glass such as Pilkington Optiphon should be considered.

In order to create a comfortable environment where large areas of glazing are being used such as Conservatory Roofs, you require much of the above list to include energy efficiency, solar control, self clean or easy-clean, toughened safety and controlled light transmission. Be rest assured that we can provide a suitable option for any intended purpose.