Unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) is swiftly rising to become the number one choice for smart homeowners looking for the best material for their doors and windows. They add great value to the functionality and overall durability of the house. Using uPVC for your windows and doors has a number of advantages, such as durability, sturdiness, easy maintenance, environment-friendly, significantly cheaper pricing, etc. But, perhaps the most important advantage, that should be the deal breaker for you, in case you are confused about choosing uPVC windows for home, is that uPVC is an energy efficient solution for buildings.
Energy leakage can happen in a number of ways, which may not be very evident on the surface. Some ways in which energy dissipation takes place are mentioned below.
- Air Leakage: Air, being a fluid, can enter your home through countless ways. A passage of hot outdoor air through gaps between windows and doors and the walls is created, in summers. It increases the temperature inside the room.
- Conduction: Heat can also enter by the way of conduction. It is the direct transfer of heat from the outside to the inside.
- Radiation: The transmission of infrared rays coming from the sun through the window frames can heat up the insides of a house.
Using uPVC window frames can efficiently reduce these problems. In fact, it’s empirically proven that using energy efficient frames can cause a decrease of 7% to 15% in the energy bills.
The question that now arises is, why are uPVC windows energy efficient? Properties of the material are such that it is a poor conductor of heat. It neither retains nor transfers heat. When compared to other materials for window frames, such as aluminium (which retains as well as transfers heat), uPVC should be the obvious choice. Having such conduction properties, the frame works as a barrier between the outside and inside. Thermal resistance can be increased by double glazing the windows, by almost 94%.
These frames work as energy savers by keeping the room cool in summers and warm in winters. uPVC effectively cuts the transfer of heat from the outside during summers, thus reducing the energy required in cooling, considerably. Similarly, in winters, the heat is kept inside the room, thereby reducing the energy used in heating up the room.
uPVC doors and windows are proven to have reduced energy consumption to a great extent. In their lifetime, they can decrease greenhouse emission by 48% to 61%, as compared to aluminium frames. This statistic has some environment friendly implications. If you are a cost conscious and environmentally concerned customer, aware of the effects of your actions on your surroundings, uPVC is the option which will reduce harm to the environment, at the same time cut down your electricity bill.