Double glazing pros/cons

[Daniel Boon]

double glaze is NO GOOD if you want to keep heat out REAL Good if you want to keep heat in

letting the Sun shine through is Dumb (unless you want to trap heat in house (unlikely in Thailand)

good for Noise Insulation.

[KittenKong]

double glaze is NO GOOD if you want to keep heat out REAL Good if you want to keep heat in

They aren't the same thing?

[KittenKong]

If you don't have double brick walls double glazing will do nothing for you.

Double-glazing will always help to an extent, though the quality of the frames is also important.

Double brick walls are only relevant if your walls are exposed to the hot outside air or direct sun. Mine are not.

[CM4Me]

My condo is on the SW Corner of the building. During my 1st summer here it was very hot, so I had double glazed (slightly tinted) windows with new alum frames installed.

I also purchased new block-out curtains. I close and open them, one at a time, as the sun moves around the building.

I also have a thermometer which shows indoor and outdoor temps.

I can guarantee that now I get upwards of 5 degrees cooler inside (without using an ac).

It was expensive, but worth the cost, in my opinion

[Jaybee2]

In all the discussion of windows getting direct sun (south-facing), and windows on the side that gets no sun (north-facing), there seems here to be a preference for north-facing windows, since that unit will be cooler. Many condos only have windows on one side and one poster said he moved from a south-facing condo to a north-facing condo because of problems dealing with the heat, and is happy with the north-facing condo, as it is easy to keep cool.

In this matter, let me say that living in a north facing condo or room is bad for a person's health, IMHO. You are much better off taking steps to minimize the heat on the south-facing condo, and using air-con (or fans) to deal with the heat, IMHO. The reason is two-fold. First, living in a cool north-facing room is bad for your lungs. Cool air fosters the growth of fungi and other microbes, which you then breathe in.

Once, living in a north facing studio condo, I noted mold growing at the base of the walls. Which means I was breathing mold spores, and other microbes. I came down with a lung infection 3 or 4 times in the course of a 5 month stay there. Using a dehumidifier to dry the cool air helped some, but did not entirely eliminate the problem.

Last winter I ran into the same problem. December was miserable and, of course, I came down with the lung infection again. After 6 weeks, I moved to a south-facing unit, and (after a course of anti-biotics), I had no further problem with my lungs in the following 4 months there. Other times when I stayed in south-facing rooms, I had little or not problems. When you are in a south-facing room, just having a black-out curtain on the south side windows allows you to let in the direct sunlight to the degree you wish, and block the direct sun, when the room has had enough sun to dry it out. I did NOT use A/C all the time, only when really necessary. I used fans a lot. The old over head ones are best, and it is a shame that they seem to be fast becoming a thing of the past in Thai construction.

A 2nd reason, which would only apply for some people, is living in a dark room can cause depression. We come to Thailand for the sun, so why live in the dark?

Edited August 27, 2014 by Jaybee2

[KittenKong]

I did NOT use A/C all the time, only when really necessary. I used fans a lot. The old over head ones are best, and it is a shame that they seem to be fast becoming a thing of the past in Thai construction.

A 2nd reason, which would only apply for some people, is living in a dark room can cause depression. We come to Thailand for the sun, so why live in the dark?

In Jomtien I have my aircon on almost all the time, except for just a few weeks at the coolest time of year (this winter was very cool).

But I also have two overhead fans going constantly and the aircon is set to 28 degrees which means that it serves mostly to dry the air rather than cool it excessively. The end result is comfort and fairly low electricity bills.

Never seen any mould anywhere in my building, but I know that it can occur in other parts of the country where it rains more.

I chose my condo mostly for the full-wall panoramic view and the brightness, and I'm not going to compromise either with blackout curtains or windows that face the wrong way. That's what the aircon is for.

[cheeryble]

In all the discussion of windows getting direct sun (south-facing), and windows on the side that gets no sun (north-facing), there seems here to be a preference for north-facing windows, since that unit will be cooler. Many condos only have windows on one side and one poster said he moved from a south-facing condo to a north-facing condo because of problems dealing with the heat, and is happy with the north-facing condo, as it is easy to keep cool.

In this matter, let me say that living in a north facing condo or room is bad for a person's health, IMHO. You are much better off taking steps to minimize the heat on the south-facing condo, and using air-con (or fans) to deal with the heat, IMHO. The reason is two-fold. First, living in a cool north-facing room is bad for your lungs. Cool air fosters the growth of fungi and other microbes, which you then breathe in.

Once, living in a north facing studio condo, I noted mold growing at the base of the walls. Which means I was breathing mold spores, and other microbes. I came down with a lung infection 3 or 4 times in the course of a 5 month stay there. Using a dehumidifier to dry the cool air helped some, but did not entirely eliminate the problem.

Last winter I ran into the same problem. December was miserable and, of course, I came down with the lung infection again. After 6 weeks, I moved to a south-facing unit, and (after a course of anti-biotics), I had no further problem with my lungs in the following 4 months there. Other times when I stayed in south-facing rooms, I had little or not problems. When you are in a south-facing room, just having a black-out curtain on the south side windows allows you to let in the direct sunlight to the degree you wish, and block the direct sun, when the room has had enough sun to dry it out. I did NOT use A/C all the time, only when really necessary. I used fans a lot. The old over head ones are best, and it is a shame that they seem to be fast becoming a thing of the past in Thai construction.

A 2nd reason, which would only apply for some people, is living in a dark room can cause depression. We come to Thailand for the sun, so why live in the dark?

Sounds valid if you happen to have sensitive lungs Jaybee.

Personally I lived years in a cabin in the woods whcih was so damp and spore filled I would have to leave a fan on slow the whole wet season to stop fungal growth......but never once had a lung problem. Perhaps all you needed was a fan too or allow some ventilation.

It's generally accepted that direct sun into an apartment here in LOS anything except early morning or late afternoon makes things uncomfortable.....that northish facing is favourable.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

Edited August 29, 2014 by cheeryble

[yasmarbi]

There are 2 basic criteria for window efficiency.

The first is what is called SHG (Solar heat gain) and the second is the U (insulation) value.

NB> It is a combination of the frame and glass used. Little point using good glass in a shitty frame.

Frame wise - timber is better than aluminium. If using aluminium a commmercial type frame provides more insulation than a simple domestic 1.

There are many different types of performance glass in a single glazed used in a single glazed application that can be more beneficial than double glazing - depending on your actual requirements.

In regards to double glazing - the gap between the 2 glasses is also important - but basically - the further apart the more it is suited for sound and the closer for insulation.

Here's a few links to get you going down a proper research route - research professional organisations is my tip.

http://wadic.org.au/timber_manual/WadicMain/ - see page 94 about glass.

http://wadic.org.au/?page_id=123

http://glassguide.viridianglass.com/Pages/Viridian-Architectural-Glass-Specifiers-Guide.aspx

Am I a professional in this area - to a degree, yes. Part of my customer base for last 18 years in business were both timber and aluminium window manufacturers.

Most good quality glass manufacturers should list the SHG and U levels for their glass on their website - the link to the viridian site gains access to these levels for their glass types.

Once you decide what's best for you - ask a manufacturer to quote accordingly.

[chiang mai]

Thai-Ashai glass is one of the better double glazing glass specialists, a Japanese company with a Thai subsidiary, talk to them, they know their business. Try not to go to a Thai reseller, the mark up is horrible - they have an office in Bangkok and they sent someone up to see me when I said I was interested in buying their product, only half a dozen windows - they advised that my existing frames could be re-engineered to accept double glazed units, saved money over buying new windows. They'll tell you that blue/green is the color of glass best suited to heat penetration, go for triple glazed if you want sound proofing - low E glass is the tops but not cheap.

.

Would that be "Thai Asahi Glass Public Co., Ltd." ??

Yes.