We choose double-glazed windows: which are better for an apartment?

Even if a couple of years ago, friends or relatives advised you those double-glazed windows, which better keep the heat and look more beautiful, then today more than ten manufacturers appear on the market, and the choice on the advice of relatives, alas, is morally outdated. This problem arises more often before those who are ripe for repairing an old apartment or purchased housing in the secondary market - as a rule, new buildings are equipped with double-glazed windows of basic equipment, and that's enough.

In order to understand which double-glazed units to order, which of them are best suited for "Khrushchev", "stalinka" or "Czech", you need to understand not only the engineering tricks of construction, but also in the manufacturers, and most importantly - the characteristics of different types of windows.

Indicators of specific functionality of insulating glass units

Often, manufacturers play on ignorance of buyers incomprehensible numbers and characteristics: "We install sliding double-glazed windows with a thickening to 36 mm, 4-6-4-6-4, 0.54 m2 C ° / W. Quickly and efficiently". So think about it, swept you around your finger or did not have time.

Let's start with the simplest and most modifiable characteristics of insulating glass - such as thickness. Firms insist on the need to use window packs with a width of just 36 mm instead of the established 24 mm, operating in that such windows are 60-70 percent warmer. In general, this is true from the point of view of physics, because double-glazed windows - which, it is better to show by example - consist of several blocks according to the "sandwich" scheme. Between the glasses are gas fillers: oxygen requires 15 mm distance between the glasses, krypton - 9 mm, argon - 12 mm. But here we study the impact of recoil only, losing sight of the radiation, which is associated with up to 75% heat loss. That's where the answer to the question lies: the thermal conductivity of windows depends not only on the thickness of the bags, and ordering them thicker than 24 mm is almost meaningless.

Another factor of the requirements for the task: "Double-glazed windows - which are better to choose?" - the temperature of the internal surfaces of the glass blocks. It depends on the presence of condensation - an unpleasant surprise, which surprises loggias and balconies in the cold season. Its role is played by the lowering of cold air flows to the bottom of the double-glazed window - thus only the edges of windows become fogged.

How not to fall for the bait and choose the best double-glazed windows ?

Before you make a purchase and sign a contract for installation, study the accompanying documentation for the windows and compare it with the requirements of SniP: what is the resistance, thickness and heat transfer of the package, the internal temperature of the glass surface?

Remember that bright promotional offers of tempting additional functions are often necessary only to increase demand, in fact only worsening or not affecting the functionality of windows. Much depends also on installation work. For example, it is not a fact that the noise insulation is determined by the thickness of the glass - rather, the number and type of air interlayers, the uniformity of the thickness of the glasses and their composition.

Thinking about which double-glazed windows are best to choose, pay attention to the presence of brand names, markings and the presence of heavy compounds - lead and cadmium. After all, quality windows in the apartment - not only a message with the outside world, but also a pledge of the health of the household.