Keeping your home warm all year round relies on multiple factors, including an efficient boiler, good insulation and energy-efficient windows. With each of these components in place, you should be able to stop heat from escaping quickly from your property, making it more comfortable to live in and hopefully reducing your energy bills. Your windows play a huge role in maintaining your home’s warmth, and you can see big results even by making small changes like installing secondary glazing or upgrading from single to double glazing.
Stop the heat escaping
Up to 20% of the heat from your home is lost through inefficient windows, making it feel colder more quickly and perhaps even causing draughts and cold spots. With double glazing or secondary glazing, this rate of heat loss is significantly reduced. Rather than just having one pane of glass between the home and the cold air outside, you will have two panes of glass with a layer of air in between. This results in a far more effective barrier, stopping heat from moving through it so quickly. There are many different types of glazing available, as well as different energy ratings, but it is always a good idea to look for windows with an A rating (by law, all new and replacement glazing has to meet a minimum energy rating of C).
Insulating your property
High-quality windows provide excellent insulation for your home, and work in collaboration with other forms of insulation to enhance the efficiency of the building. Double glazing can help you attain a good level of energy efficiency, and, while triple glazing is available, this is not necessarily the most effective progression. Rather than simply adding more layers to the glazing, the key is to have each of the layers at varying thicknesses, as this makes it more difficult for the thermal particles to pass through. Most homeowners find that good double glazing, combined with a smart meter and an efficient boiler, offers significant energy savings.
Which material?
Nowadays, there is little difference in the energy efficiency of different window materials. Whether you choose aluminium, timber or uPVC, your windows should keep the heat in. If you have old timber windows that are draughty, you could consider upgrading them to a timber alternative like Residence 9, which looks just like timber but is much more efficient.
Here at Hamilton Windows, we have a wide range of energy-efficient windows for you to choose from for your property in Hackbridge, Guildford, Fulham or a surrounding area of London or Surrey. Contact us today to find out more and for a free, no-obligation quotation.
