Double glazed windows use two sheets of glass with a gap between them which creates an insulating barrier, whilst triple glazed windows have three sheets of glass. Both options can deliver a high level of energy efficiency. It is not the case that you have to use triple glazing to gain the most energy efficient window.

Energy efficient windows are available in a variety of frame materials and styles. They also vary in their energy efficiency, depending on how well they stop heat from passing through the window, how much sunlight travels through the glass and how little air can leak in or out around the window.

Some window and door manufacturers helpfully use a window energy rating scheme to show the energy efficiency of their product. This is similar to the one you may have seen on appliances such as your fridge, or washing machine. A-rated windows are the most efficient. To check a window’s energy efficiency before you buy, look at the energy label

The benefits of double glazing

• Smaller energy bills: replacing all single glazed windows with energy efficient glazing could save you around £135 per year on your energy bills.
• A smaller carbon footprint: by using less fuel, you’ll generate less of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that leads to global warming.
• A more comfortable home: energy efficient glazing reduces heat loss through windows and means fewer draughts and cold spots.
• Peace and quiet: as well as keeping the heat in, energy efficient windows insulate your home against unwanted outside noise.
• Reduced condensation: energy efficient glazing reduces condensation build-up on the inside of windows.

Awning Blind Outdoor Fitting Price

With an extensive range of systems, mounting brackets, colourways and accessories to choose from there is a Caribbean Quality Awning to cater for every application and requirement. Whether you’re looking to simply provide some internal shading or a complete new sheltered outdoor area there is a Caribbean Quality Awning for you.

What a Caribbean Quality Awning will do for your home:

Create a sheltered outdoor area
Protect you and your family from the harmful UV rays of the sun
Provide added seclusion and privacy within your garden
Keep your home cool on even the hottest summer days
Prevent carpets and furnishings from fading, whilst retaining the view
Stop the glare from the sun
Allow you to entertain in style and sophistication – be the envy of your neighbours
Dramatically transform the appearance of your home

Caribbean Quality Awnings are available through Smashing Windows who will be more than happy to arrange a free visit to assess your requirements, discuss the options and benefits and give you a no hassle, no obligation quotation.

The system is really easy to use – simply plug in the window measurements and select clear, plain windows or styles such as obscure, toughened, Georgian bars or leaded and obtain an instant price for us to visit your house and replace the required windows.

No more waiting for a call back or complicated quotations – our system will instantly display a full breakdown of all the costs, we will even instantly email you a printer friendly copy of the quote for your reference.

Each quote is sent with a unique reference number so if you require further information, or would like to book a Smashing Windows Technician to proceed with your purchase simply give us a call on 01296 630650 and quote your reference number.

To obtain an instant quote for your window repair or replacement please click here

The Anguilla shade sail is a great cost effective solution for providing a shaded and sheltered outdoor area.

Manufactured from the same spun dyed woven acrylic fabrics as our range of awnings, the material offers unbeatable UV protection, water repellence and is protected against environmental influences, such as mould and fungae growth. There are 6 attractive designs to choose from to suit all tastes (see below).

The Anguilla shade sail can be anchored from virtually anything including buildings, posts and even trees. Tensioner hooks are attached to heavy duty eye rings on all corners to ensure your shade sail remains taut all year long whilst webbing to all sides ensure it keeps its shape.

Two high points (approx 3m) and two low points (approx 2m) give the Anguilla shade sail its floating butterfly shape and allows rain to easily run off. Multiple shade sails can be positioned together to provide shde and shelter for larger areas.

Sizes: 4.5m x 4.5m and 5.5m x 5.5m

The appearance of the optical phenomenon known as Brewster’s Fringes is not a defect of the glass and can occur with any glass of high optical and surface quality. This phenomenon is a result of the high quality now being achieved world wide by modern methods of glass manufacture.

Brewster’s Fringes occurrence is wavelengths of light meeting up with each other when they are exactly 180 degrees out of phase – an example of this phenomenon is known to physicists as the ‘interference’ of light. The effect is similar to, although usually much smaller than, the interference fringes which can sometimes be seen on toughened glass windscreens.

In the case of insulation glass installations, Brewster’s Fringes only occur when the surfaces of the glass in the double glazing sealed unit are flat and the two panes of glass are parallel to each other, i.e. when the light transmission properties of the installation are of a very high order. What happens is that some of the incident light from the Sun meets light reflected from one of the surfaces of the insulating glass in such a way that they are 180 degrees out of phase and cancel each other out, thereby giving rise to a fringe (sort of oily looking) effect, small in area on the glass when viewed from a particular angle. Alternatively, different parts of the incident solar radiation may be refracted through the glass by different amounts and end up by being 180 degrees out of phase. This phenomenon is not a defect of the product, being dependant on the laws of physics and not the quality of the insulating glass sealed unit. In fact it arises because modern glass made by the float process is flat and, therefore, free of the distortion inherent in sheet glass.

The occurrence of Brewster’s Fringes is in it’s nature rather like (though very much rarer than) the fact that under certain conditions, you could see a reflection of yourself in and window or door, when it is supposed to be clear glass that you can see through, and no-one could claim that this is a defect of the glass.

Special Note:

With any patterned double glazed sealed units, the above phenomenon does not occur, simply because of the very nature of the diffuse qualities of an obscured glass.
Source: www.thewindowman.co.uk

Windows present a difficult problem and years ago there used to be only one practical means of dealing with the traditional single glazed domestic window. This usually took the form of collecting the water forming in a channel at the bottom of the window and leading it via ‘weep holes’ to the external face. These ‘weep-holes’ or condensation outlets are small holes about 1/4″ in diameter drilled at an angle through the frame so that water will pass by normal gravitation to the outside. It was preferable to have a small copper tube passing though a timber frame so as to prevent a tendency for saturation to take place.

The easy answer these days to reduce window condensation is with double-glazing, and normally with PVC-U frames. The insulation properties of both framework and glass is improving all the time as technology moves on, and as measures are introduced by government to improve energy efficiency in line with the Kyoto Protocol. However, glass is still glass, and no matter how well insulated by double-glazing, the interior pane will always be susceptible to the formation of condensation in a situation where the relative humidity reaches impossible limits. With double glazing, houses have become more effectively sealed, keeping any moisture produced within the house and providing better conditions for condensation to occur, therefore ventilation has become highly important.

It is unlikely that a home in the UK can be condensation free, however by keeping your property properly maintained and thinking about your lifestyle and decoration, you should be able to live with condensation without it ruining your life

While drying clothes indoors, ventilate the room.

When people come in with wet coats, hang them outside the living area to dry. A good reason for a porch.

Keep the kitchen door closed when cooking, and open the windows.

After a bath or shower, try to ventilate the room to the outside, not to the rest of the house – just opening a window (and closing the door) will help.

Open all windows at least once a day. Change all of the air in the house.

If security permits, leave top windows in the bedrooms open, especially at night, when the outside temperature drops and the indoor temperature rises as the heating kicks in. Breathing is a major contributor to condensation!

Reduce the number of indoor house plants, as plants increase humidity levels

If condensation is excessive, try a dehumidifier to remove excess humidity from the air

Misty Window Example

After a period of time the seal ‘breaks down’, causing a hairline fracture in the seal, thereby letting air containing moisture in. Various factors can accelerate this breakdown, such as wood frames and putty, poor frame drainage, poor installations not leaving sufficient gap between the glass edge and the frame,  locations in extreme sunny positions or where excessive vibrations occur.

Once air can get into the unit, the silica originally used becomes fully saturated and condensation starts to form as temperatures rise and fall against the side of the glass.

If your units were installed during the last 10 years, check your guarantee and see if you are still covered.

Despite rumours to the contrary, it is not possible to repair the units by splitting them and re-sealing them!