7th August 2020

How do thermally broken window frames work with double glazing

When considering a window system, you are selecting window frames as well as the glass which sits inside.

We don’t just mean you need to select a paint colour or frame material for your windows, we mean you can choose specially manufactured frames along with double glazed glass units to create a window system which encloses the seal within the window opening improving the insulation properties of the window and reducing air leakage into your home.

 
Windows are an essential part of creating natural light in the home. It’s good to keep front of mind that a window is an opening in the wall, a disruption to your insulation. So when choosing window frames and glass it’s important to make sure you seal these openings effectively to maintain optimal insulation all year round.

Standard aluminium frames can be enhanced by using double glazed units, but you will still encounter reduced performance because aluminium is a conductor of heat and cold. So you can experience a colder or warmer room in extreme seasonal months as the temperature outside is transferring inside at a faster rate.

To slow the time time taken for the temperature outside to flow inside you can select a thermally broken window frame. These frames contain a reinforced polyamide strip (which is a specially formulated rubber). This creates a barrier which slows the rate of conduction between the window opening and the inside of the home. By adding double glazing like LightBridge next™, you are really slowing the rate of conduction as you have created a well-sealed window with heavily reduced air leakage. Sealing off these openings in the home ensure your walls remain well insulated without compromising on your dream window size!

According to Architectural Window Systems (AWS) Australia, their ThermalHEART window frame is 33% more efficient than a standard double glazed aluminium framed window.

Don’t forget the glass you choose for your windows is only half of the story – and with our window fabricator partners you can select thermally broken frames to super charge your window performance in conjunction with Viridian double glazing.

Take a look at the inside the ThermalHEART product in action in the cross-section display images below, kindly supplied by our valued customer Taberners and ThermalHeart frame manufacturer AWS Australia. Contact them to discuss thermally broken windows with Viridian Glass. 

Below is a cross section of a comparison between the ThermalHEART and standard aluminium window frames. On the left is the thermally broken ThermalHEART frame, and on the right in standard aluminium. As you can see the aluminium frame has frost, which shows how it is much easily transferring the cool from the outside straight through the frame. You can imagine when in a home how this cold would transfer straight inside.  Photo courtesy of Taberners


This is the similar cross section with thermometers showing the varying temperatures live. The thermometer at the back middle of the display replicates a very cold temperature outside (-5 C). At the front right you can see how the temperature of the aluminium frame reacts, recording a temperature of -4 degrees Celsius and not making much of a difference at all. If you take a look at the ThermalHEART temperature on the left, you can see it records a temperature of 15.9 degrees Celsius, this shows how the thermally broken frame is effectively insulated the inside from the temperature outside. Photo courtesy of AWS Australia