Friday, February 8, 2013

80 Years Of The Historic Development Of Double Glazed Windows

The historic development Of double glazed windows started in the USA. The building company called Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company were selling their houses designed in a way that the whole house supposed to be heated using just a kitchen stove. To make it possible, they had to use better insulated windows. They had registered their invention in 1941.

Although back then people were less concerned about energy saving possibilities, this new idea caught their attention. Some say there were similar solutions in Scotland even before this, but it isn\’t really confirmed. So, this was the first time people actually tried to be innovative about heat reducing issues.

The new double window was named Thermopane and mainly used by their own company. Soon after that, in the 1950s, people started to realize all the advantages, and the product became very interesting, at first only in the USA. It\’s sounds strange, but in other countries it became popular in the 80s, somewhere even in the 90s.

Protected name Thermopane started to be used for all the windows designed on this particular way. It is actually a glass panel made of two glass panels with a gap in between. This narrow space is filled with some kind of gas, or with air, and sealed. This way the window has much better thermal characteristics. Those characteristics depend on this gap width, also.

The main purpose is to reduce the heat transfer, of course. They had to separate those panels somehow, as well as to fix them together. Different materials used for this purpose, separators, were called \’spacers\’. The spacers also seal the gas permanently between those two panels.

At first, they tried with steel and similar metals. Well, that was not very successful, because those metals were very good heat conductors. Later on, they started to use all kind of different materials, including structural foam, for example. After that, they\’ve tried with aluminum.

Aluminum proved itself as a very good choice. Very nice insulation material, light and not so expensive, it served the purpose. Using of thermal barrier reduces condensation, also. In following years, therm-panels became very popular all over the world. Thermal protection depends on many other factors, like frame and sill.

The heat transfer can be calculated if all those factors are taken under consideration. There are different versions of therm-panel windows today. New, innovative solutions made possible to use them just about everywhere, from shopping centers to glass houses. Furthermore, the general characteristics are significantly improved.

There are all sorts of improvement today. Special coatings, triple glazed versions, different acoustic performances and insulation characteristics and who knows what else. The most important characteristic remains the same; reduce the heat transfer.

Those were just some basic stuff about the historic development of double glazed windows. The important thing is that this development continues. Energy reserves won\’t be here indefinitely, and people have to be concerned about this. Cutting the unnecessary expenses, taking care of the nature and living more comfortably should be in everyone\’s best interest.

Get more information and details about the history of double glazed sash windows today. You can find advice for choosing knowledgeable professionals who will help you choose the wooden windows West London that will meet all of your needs now.


80 Years Of The Historic Development Of Double Glazed Windows

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