Halve Your Energy Bills by Doubling Up! Part 1

When we think of windows in a home we don't think in terms of energy efficiency - we think in terms of style. Windows can add elegance to a home, or if you prefer they can add a cozy-cabin feeling or more recently, that wide open feeling of there being no windows.

Windows can visually create whichever atmosphere you want in a room - and the operative word here is: visually. There is another way that windows can affect the ambience of a room, and it is not necessarily a positive one.

Have you ever sat close to a window on a winter's day and realized the amount of cold that can emanate through those panes of glass? Likewise in the summer when you are trying to keep cool, half the heat in the room is radiating off those panes of glass. Doubling up on the panes of glass is one of the secrets that will cure this.

Of course you are reading this and groaning that this would be expensive. Well, while the investment will add future redeemable value to your home and will immediately save you quite alot of money on your energy bills - nevertheless it is not cheap for the initial outlay.

The system for buying a whole pre-built unit of double panes of glass is the only way to go, because if you add a second pane yourself you will suffer with condensation between the panes. They have to be air tight to function correctly and condensation spoils their transparency.

Eventually, even with the hermetically sealed bought ones, the perimeter seals will wear and cause condensation; warranties are anywhere from ten to twenty five years.

A temporary solution once this happens is to find a company that will drill tiny air holes in the glass to allow some ventilation.

These units are called double glazed units in the UK (a glazier works with glass), however in North America there is some confusion over the term to use. Here are the most popular:

Insulating Glass Unit - (IGU)
Insulated Glazing Unit (IGU)
Sealed Insulated Glass (SIG)
Thermopane

Whichever IGU (or whatever) you go with; the result will be very noticeable on your energy bills. The U.S. Department of Energy says that windows can allow for between ten and twenty five per cent of your heating and/or cooling bills. The Department even go as far as to say that heat coming through glass windows can cause your air conditioning unit work two or three times harder than otherwise. This indirectly adds the wear and tear of appliances to your energy costs.

There is one other factor that may sway some of you to make the investment into IGUs: noise. If you live in a city or on a street that has become busier you will definitely notice much less noise in your home once you have installed IGUs. Particularly if you take the trouble to find a company that makes IGUs with Sound Transmission Glass.

Sound Transmission Glass (STG) has ratings on it which indicate the differing levels of noise that the glass will allow through it. A normal pane of glass has a rating of approximately 22/25, and if these are combined in a double paned unit the rating will be approximately 27/32.

However, you can order one pane of glass with an STG rating of 33 which, if doubled when built into an IGU will knock out a decibel or two.

If installing IGUs for energy related reasons, there is more than one rating to consider, and more than one type of function, glass and style. While style is simply a matter of taste, you may wish to be better informed on the other options. These are outlined in 'Halve Your Energy Bills By Doubling Up' Part 2.