Following on from Friday’s article about Keeping Warm This Winter, today we thought we’d give you a further insight into effectively insulating your windows, helping to reduce the amount of heat lost from your property during the cold weather.
U-values indicate the thermal performance of a window and its ability to retain heat. The lower the u-value, the lower the heat loss. U-values are not just used for windows but all components of a building including the plasterboard, insulation materials, masonry, metal etc.
External sealed blind systems (pictured above) – those where the fabric runs and is locked within the side channels – are proven to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows, as they provide an additional layer of insulation by trapping air between the blind fabric and glazing and are therefore more effective in reducing Winter heat loss than an internal solution.
The graph above compares the U-value of an unshaded window, with the same window fitted with an external roller blind. As you can see, external blinds significantly reduce the heat lost from the window during cold weather, in turn reducing energy use and heating costs.
Along with U-value the other important energy performance figure of a window is the G-value – how well it prevents solar gain, where the impact of external shading is so great, that air conditioning of any description becomes superfluous.
If you would like to find out more about the energy performance of our shading systems in combination with your glazing along with benefitting from lower energy bills this winter, complete our quick enquiry form here and one of our shading specialists will call you back to discuss your requirements in greater detail.
