The first thing you need to know when choosing glass types is that there is a choice. Glass comes in various forms, each with distinct performance features, it is these differences that are likely to have a noticeable impact on your home, particularly if the optimum glass type for your needs is not used.
Glass is a superior building material – not only does it insulate us from changing temperature and extreme weather conditions, it also determines and allows the passing of light and heat into and out of our homes.
There are 3 primary considerations when choosing the correct glass types to suit your needs: natural light, energy efficiency and thermal conductivity.
The amount of natural light we have access to in our home is a direct function of window area. As human beings we are all innately attracted to natural light – we are physiologically wired that way. Even a brief scan through a home decor or architectural magazine will reinforce this – the images we find most appealing and aspirational are those with abundant natural light. And this is true in real-life as well.
So if we like light so much why don’t we build homes with lots of windows? Because windows leak heat – in and out of your home – far more than the equivalent area of wall. An energy-leaky home is expensive to run, less comfortable to live in, and may fail to meet the minimum threshold laid out in the energy efficiency regulations of the National Construction Code. Therefore, in designing an energy efficient home that meets the requirements of the Code, there is a choice – either reduce the amount and size of your standard windows, or install your desired size and amount of windows, using better quality, energy saving glass.
