It is impossible to argue that beauty and picturesqueness are inherent in Canadian winters. At the same time, this year’s season lasts quite a long time and brings cold weather to most of the country. This is one of the main reasons why it is worth paying detailed attention to the warmth of your home in the winter.

Warmth and a comfortable microclimate in the room are the result of high-quality insulation of the house. Mistakes made at this stage of construction are very costly for suburban property owners. This is not only high heating costs, but also disturbed humidity conditions, which makes living in the house uncomfortable.

Heat loss can occur due to leaky door and window openings, thin external walls, poor-quality thermal insulation of floors, ceilings and other structural elements. It is worth noting that windows play an important role in insulating a house. That is why replacement windows is something that should be taken care of before the onset of cold weather and frosts.

Most of the heat escapes through windows, especially if we are talking about old wooden structures. Installing sealed plastic windows helps improve thermal insulation.

Frames

The most energy efficient windows for cold climates are frames that do not allow air leakage. The following window frame materials are distinguished:

Plastic: Durable And Easy To Clean

They are available not only in the classic white colour, but also in multi-colored variations, such as decorative solid colours, metallic effect or acrylic and spectral surfaces. Plastic windows are almost completely recycled after use, with new window profiles obtained, among other things, from old PVC windows. They are cheaper to buy than, for example, wooden or aluminium structures.

Wood: An Eco-Friendly Classic

Consumers often choose wooden windows because of their natural appearance. In addition, wood has very good natural insulating properties, does not conduct cold well, which reduces heating costs and makes wooden windows a very interesting choice, especially for residential premises. In addition, wood always looks chic, and with good care, a wooden window will serve without failure for decades.

Aluminium: Delicate And Durable

Thanks to good statics and durable but lightweight material, aluminium frames are especially popular for large, modern panoramic facade structures. In addition, they are very easy to care for. Aluminium windows withstand wind and bad weather for a particularly long time due to the characteristics of their material. An additional advantage of the popularity of aluminium window frames is their design, as well as the ability of being painted in different colours.

However, aluminium has high heat transfer properties. This means that the cold will penetrate into your home much more actively than in the case of wooden or plastic material. Thus, aluminium by itself is the least energy efficient option for winter.

Combination Frames: A Growing Trend

More and more companies in the industry are combining the benefits of different materials. For example, wood-aluminium windows offer the warmth and aesthetics of a natural material on the interior side, while the metal surface on the outside defies the most adverse weather conditions.

Plastic windows can also be combined with aluminium, which is placed on the outside of the window frame. At the same time, the ability to paint the aluminium trim with powder paint in a wide palette of colours allows you to harmoniously fit the windows into the style of the facade. In addition, hybrid systems significantly increase the long-term functionality and reliability of windows and balcony doors.

Thus, the user receives the benefits of the appearance and weatherability of an aluminium window on the outside, combined with the higher thermal insulation performance and aesthetics of wood or plastic on the inside. And the window frame itself, made of a more vulnerable material, is reliably protected from the outside. Combinations of materials make ordinary windows special, attracting attention with excellent properties. This is a growing trend.

Glass

The configuration of the glass also directly determines how well the window will cope with retaining heat or coolness. For example, ordinary glass has minimal energy-saving efficiency and does not protect very well from street noise. But several standard glasses of the specified thickness in a double-glazed window are already enough for serious heat retention and noise protection.

The combination of regular and thickened glass in one double-glazed unit also significantly improves the thermal insulation properties of the window.

At the same time, installing special energy-saving glass in a single-chamber double-glazed window almost eliminates the difference between it and a double-chamber double-glazed window with conventional glass. If you install thickened or energy-saving glass in a double-glazed window, the efficiency in all of the above indicators will become even higher. However, the window will most likely increase significantly in price.

Tinted mirror films will help ensure privacy. They completely exclude the possibility of seeing anything from outside the house, but do not impair the translucency of the glazing. In addition, they protect the premises from ultraviolet radiation. The shade can be matched to the colour of the house.

Conclusion

Windows play an important role in insulating a home. The quality of the installed frames and glass determines how difficult it will be for the cold to get into your home. Before choosing a window material for installation, you need to study the information and identify the one that is best for you in terms of price and quality.