Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 Oct 28, 2009 11:04 pm We are considering upgrading our windows. Currently they are going to be standard windows 4mm thick. The options we are costing are upgrade to 6.4mm grey tinted or upgrade to 6.5mm non tinted. The tinted windows are supposed to help with solar efficiency etc and the others are just a bit thicker. We are not building on a busy road, but we are near the coast in WA so it will be windy. We have a few windows on the West side aswell. We have been told roughly 8-10k upgrade - just waiting for the final cost. Did anyone else upgrade windows or is it a waste of money? Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 2Oct 29, 2009 6:37 am Hi there, We were always thinking we would go for double-glazed if we were ever to build. Then, once we started the process, we were thinking to just get factory tinted glass, like yourself. The upgrade cost was really cheap, but our "design" person pointed out that the tint on this glass is actually quite light. Then we had a better look at the glass (even went to a friend's house who built with the same builder) and straight away we saw that he was spot on - the tint was very light indeed. Then we investigated all of this a little further, but there was no clear answer as to what is better. Naturally, each salesperson will try to sell their own product and leave out any potential disadvantages. Apparently, tinted glass has to be thick (as you say) because it needs to be able to withstand the heat absorption that builds up in it (at least that's what I understood). Tinted glass doesn't reflect as much heat as tinted film (the film that you can put on later), so supposedly tinted glass breaks more readily if exposed to really hot northerly sun (that's why it has to be thicker). Anyway, we ran out of time thinking what to do, so in the end, we left all our windows plain plain plain! Maybe that's one of the things we'll regret, because tinting the windows afterwards will cost much more - at least according to some prices I got over the phone while we were investigating our options. So, BTW, if anyone knows of top quality and cheap home window tinting in Sydney - please feel free to let me know !! Cheers! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 3Oct 29, 2009 5:50 pm buildinginjindalee We are considering upgrading our windows. Currently they are going to be standard windows 4mm thick. The options we are costing are upgrade to 6.4mm grey tinted or upgrade to 6.5mm non tinted. The tinted windows are supposed to help with solar efficiency etc and the others are just a bit thicker. We are not building on a busy road, but we are near the coast in WA so it will be windy. We have a few windows on the West side aswell. We have been told roughly 8-10k upgrade - just waiting for the final cost. Did anyone else upgrade windows or is it a waste of money? Hi Thicker glass is a waste of money... the windows specified by your builder will suit the location of your home for wind rating. Thick glass will simply exceed the requirement. If you want a stronger glass that will resist breakage, go for toughened glass. Whether tinting is any use depends on your energy rating... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 4Oct 29, 2009 8:53 pm Window tint will give better heat and glare protection than the grey glass, and you can just tint the windows you want (ie Western side). 8-10k buys a lot of window film (probably your whole house a number of times over). Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 5Nov 02, 2009 1:06 pm There are some good, independent information available on this if you separate the independent from the sales driven sites. My understanding is that tinting is much less effective in reducing heat entering the house than external shading or internal heavy drapes etc. It also does not help much in reducing heat loss from the interior during winter when heavy internal curtains with a full pelmet come into their own. When a local low life smashed the rear window of our car, I didn't bother to get it tinted again after reading how little tinting reduces heat gain inside the car during summer. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 6Nov 03, 2009 7:47 am Its certainly an interesting question and one we are trying to come to grips with (especialy as its a bit ticket item). We are looking for a good looking window with above average thermal and sound properties (doesnt have to be the highest rated thermal or sound window).. For what its worth this is the info I am juggling for the entire house - I will not add vendor names Moderators - * Vendor A - Cost Approx $20K for Aluminium Single Glazed (stunning frames), * Vendor A - wants approx $30K for Aluminium Double Glazed (same frame) * Vendor A - advised to go for clear 6.34mm Laminated for extra $2K (so $22k) as you will get very good sound and thermal effeciences (not as good as double glazed). The "Sales" guys logic is the marginal performance to go to double glazing versus $$'s is not worth it. Vendor A has advised that he will price to upgrade to a Low E window - will advise when I get it. * Vendor B - Cost approx $20K for Double Glazed (average looking Aluminium frames) * Vendor B - Quality looks very good We are leaning to Vendor A to get the look "and what appears to be an effecient but not the most effecient window system" Apparently the Sales guy (vendor A) says I will not know the difference and the energy savings are minimal to go Double Glazed * Are we there yet ? Demolition has come and gone ! yippeeee..hang on that was months ago !! come on Mr Builder, dig a hole at least Finaly ! Hole Dug ! well done darren 20/06/2010. Slab is down ! Framing is complete 20/10/2010 we are progressing like a snail on heat - excited and determined but very very slow Steveo Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 7Nov 03, 2009 9:30 pm Fiffaro There are some good, independent information available on this if you separate the independent from the sales driven sites. My understanding is that tinting is much less effective in reducing heat entering the house than external shading or internal heavy drapes etc. It also does not help much in reducing heat loss from the interior during winter when heavy internal curtains with a full pelmet come into their own. When a local low life smashed the rear window of our car, I didn't bother to get it tinted again after reading how little tinting reduces heat gain inside the car during summer. External shading would be the most ideal option, but not always possible and at a much higher cost. Curtains, blinds, etc won't come close to window tint for reducing heat gain inside the building, and they'll also block a lot of light and of course the view during the day. The standard tint will reduce heat loss by the same amount as heavy drapes without pelmet, or a low-E film will out perform almost any double glazing (even standard double glazing with heavy drapes and pelmet). On vehicles, a quality legal tint will reduce heat by 70%. If you leave the car sitting in a carpark all day long then its going to reach almost the same temperature inside whether its tinted or not, but a tinted car will take a lot longer to get to that temperature and be cooler on long drives reducing the reliance on air-con (plus glare reduction and 99.9%UV protection). It doesn't make any difference to me whether you buy tint or not, I'm just here to have some input to educate people. Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 8Nov 04, 2009 2:10 pm neil_se The standard tint will reduce heat loss by the same amount as heavy drapes without pelmet, or a low-E film will out perform almost any double glazing (even standard double glazing with heavy drapes and pelmet). Tint won't affect heat loss as most of this is through conduction. Low-E film will greatly disappoint you if you think it even comes close to double glazing... Low-E relies on still air next to the glass or film - it really only works in a double glazed unit. Low-E or low emissivity has no effect on conduction. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 9Nov 04, 2009 4:34 pm Sorry to semi hi-jack this thread with my own question but I am interested to hear what Ed@EcoClassic (and others) have to say on this. Is it worth the $$ updating my north facing windows to double glazed units where the the aforementioned windows (2) are rather enormous and get blasted with copious amounts of sunshine all year (it's the warmest room in the house 365/24/7). Room gets very hhhhhhhhot in Summer and this filters through to the rest of the house as the room has no door due to design Other things to take in to consideration: a. they're street facing so awnings are out of the question for aesthetic reasons (I do highly recommend these otherwise and have them on all west facing windows). b. no other windows in the house are double glazed. It would only be these two getting the special treatment. c. house is not 5 star rated (has been retro fitted with roof insulation but that's it!) My main reason for considering double glazing - apart from updating the look of said windows - is to reduce the heat transfer in to this room in Summer. A reduction in noise could be a bonus as it's street facing. Thoughts? Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 10Nov 04, 2009 6:51 pm _kelly_ Sorry to semi hi-jack this thread with my own question but I am interested to hear what Ed@EcoClassic (and others) have to say on this. Is it worth the $$ updating my north facing windows to double glazed units where the the aforementioned windows (2) are rather enormous and get blasted with copious amounts of sunshine all year (it's the warmest room in the house 365/24/7). Room gets very hhhhhhhhot in Summer and this filters through to the rest of the house as the room has no door due to design Other things to take in to consideration: a. they're street facing so awnings are out of the question for aesthetic reasons (I do highly recommend these otherwise and have them on all west facing windows). b. no other windows in the house are double glazed. It would only be these two getting the special treatment. c. house is not 5 star rated (has been retro fitted with roof insulation but that's it!) My main reason for considering double glazing - apart from updating the look of said windows - is to reduce the heat transfer in to this room in Summer. A reduction in noise could be a bonus as it's street facing. Thoughts? Your problem appears to be radiant heat transfer into your home. Double glazing won't stop this, as double glazing alone only works with conducted heat. You could double glaze with Low-E glass on surface 2 which will reduce the radiant heat. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Is it worth upgrading windows? 11Nov 05, 2009 3:03 pm You could use this product guide: http://www.viridianglass.com/products/d ... 20Data.pdf It has quite a lot of data specifically related to light, insulation and solar control. Hope this helps with your decision making. I personally have installed 6.38mm 'Comfort Plus' and have found that we turn on our heating and cooling for a lot less of the year than in our previous home where we had the standard 4mm clear float fitted. 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