Window Install
Thrilled to see our triple pane windows by Vinyltek go in this week!
We have a few complex geometries and large spans here. Really pleased with the quality and finish. We opted for a dual color frame - dark exterior (polo charcoal) white interior.
Some window features that help prevent unwanted heat loss or gain:
- Three panes of glass
- Inert argon gas in between panes
- PVC frames with multiple air channels and thick walls preventing het transmission
- Window coatings to create low emissivity (“low E”) glass. This coating allows light in but reflects the sun’s heat energy.
In a previous post (2022-06-19) we touched on key metrics to pay attention to for windows, namely U-factor (thermal resistance) and SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient). asdf
For U-factor, the lower the factor, the better the window insulates. U-factors for our triple pane windows range from U 0.17-0.18 (equivalent to R5-R6), a huge improvement over U 1.3-0.9 (or R0.8-R1!) for aluminum single pane in the original home.
We have quite a lot of glazing on north / south aspects and less on the east / west. This is more for aesthetics and daylighting than energy performance, but means we had to be careful with solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC). This can range from 0 to 1, and the lower the SHGC, the less solar heat the window lets in.
Prevailing theory for sustainable design in cold climates is to maximize SHGC on south facing windows so you get free passive heating during winter months. Our initial energy model suggested SHGC of 0.25 or higher. In practice, for well insulated homes in our region, this can lead to the opposite – overheating in summer 🥵. We’ve opted to keep all windows at SHGC 0.16-0.19.
This, combined with shading from our roof overhangs, should help control heat gain in summer but still allow some warmth on winter days. As always, it’s a trade off.
With windows now in, the team can start to heat the workspace. Perfect timing coming out of an arctic outflow and into an atmospheric river for North Van 🌨️ 🌧️!
#netzero #netzerohome #greenbuilding #tripleglazed #highperformancewindows @vinyltek_windows @twinlionscontracting
