All new housing, replacement doors and windows
must comply with Document L (Document J in
Scotland), unless specifically excluded. Your
national local or preferred installer will
be able to offer you helpful guidance and
assistance.
If you are planning any new building or renovation
work, it is always advisable to contact your
local planning office for advice on how the
building regulations affect you and your project.
A 'U' value is a measure of the rate of non-solar
heat loss or gain through a material or assembly.
The value is calculated as heat lost per hour
per square metre (W/m2K) and may
be expressed for the glass alone or the entire
window. This includes the effect of the frame
and the spacer materials. The lower the 'U'-value,
the greater a window’s resistance to
heat flow and the better its insulating value.
Low-e glass
Low-e glass stands for low emissivity glass.
This glass varies from normal clear glass,
in that one side of the glass has a special
metal coating, technically known as a low
emissitivity, or Low-e. coating. Low-e glass
is a type of insulating glass, which increases
the energy efficiency of windows by reducing
the transfer of heat or cold through glass.
That means in the winter your house stays
warmer, and in the summer it stays cooler.
There are two types of Low-e (low emissivity)
glass available - Pyrolytic (hard coat) considered
to be a medium performer, and sputtered (vacuum
deposition or soft coat) considered to be
the highest performer.
Low-e glass, how does it work?
The radiation coming from your heating system
and your furniture and furnishings is long
wave radiation. This type of radiation should
be contained in your room as best as possible,
while the radiation from the sun should be
shielded and reflected back outside.
Safety glass
The Building Regulations Document N requires
that a safety glass complying to BS6206 is
used in any full-height moveable glass panel.
This is usually toughened or laminated glass.
Toughened glass
Glass that has been heat hardened (tempered),
increases its strength over ordinary annealed
glass by up five times. There is also an added
advantage that, should it break, it would
shatter into hundreds of tiny non-sharp fragments.
Laminated glass
Laminated glass consists of two pieces of
glass bonded together with an invisible polyvinyl
butyral interlayer membrane forming a sandwich
(similar to a car windscreen), making it very
strong. The main benefit of laminated glass
is that, if broken, the glass cracks while
still remaining attached to the plastic interlayer
rather than falling and possibly causing injury;
it also provides secure protection from unwanted
visitors. In addition, laminated glass reduces
bleaching of carpets, curtains and furniture
by reducing the amount of ultra-violet rays
that penetrate the glass.
Other considerations
In addition to complying with Building regulations,
generally depicted by the type of project
other personal preferences such as the level
of solar heat gain (i.e. solar control glass),
privacy (tinted or integrated Venetian blind
units), or acoustic requirements should also
be considered. |
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