Australia can expect more and longer heatwaves due to climate change.

Climate Change: More Heatwaves & Double Glazing

Posted by John Payne on  March 10, 2016
Comments Off on Climate Change: More Heatwaves & Double Glazing
Study: Heatwaves Will Get Longer, Hotter & More Frequent The evidence is in… again. The University of NSW has used a database that tracks the last 50 or so years of heatwaves , to discover any trends. Their analysis shows that heatwaves are getting longer, more frequent and more intense in Australia. One of the climate scientists involved in the study, Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick explains how and why in the video below. She also reflects
Will uPVC windows fade or discolour in the Australian sun?

Will uPVC windows fade?

Posted by John Payne on  March 9, 2016
Comments Off on Will uPVC windows fade?
Category: Standards, uPVC
  Photo courtesy Magnus uPVC Will uPVC Windows and Doors Fade In The Sun? Some years ago, my wife and I replaced many of the old aluminium windows in our house with double-glazed doors. They’ve worked a treat, but there has been one problem. The frames were made of wood, and the wood obviously doesn’t enjoy our harsh Australian conditions. Within four years the first of the doors were drying and losing their colour. They

Climate Change: More Heatwaves & Double Glazing

Australia can expect more and longer heatwaves due to climate change.

Study: Heatwaves Will Get Longer, Hotter & More Frequent

The evidence is in… again. The University of NSW has used a database that tracks the last 50 or so years of heatwaves , to discover any trends.

Their analysis shows that heatwaves are getting longer, more frequent and more intense in Australia. One of the climate scientists involved in the study, Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick explains how and why in the video below. She also reflects on the value of using double glazing to reduce heat inside the home, and reduce air conditioner use. In an ABC 7:30 Report aired on 20/11/2015, one of the climate scientists involved in the study, Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick explains how and why. The Interviewer is Julia Baird.

“JULIA BAIRD: And given that emissions are going to increase, obviously there is a debate about to what extent, are we at the point where we need a cultural change, a change in our thinking, where we all start to say okay instead of toughing it out this summer, instead of perhaps buying more air conditioners, we actually try to adapt to it and accept that our lives will be different now?

SARAH PERKINS-KIRKPATRICK: Absolutely I think we needed that about 10 years ago. People sometimes think that double glazing on their windows on their houses for example isn’t a good move because you only need that in cold climates to keep the heat in but insulation goes both ways, if you want to keep the heat in, you also want to keep the cool in and vice versa. So perhaps using those sorts of measures when we are building our houses, maybe making it easier, or cheaper for people to buy those sorts of resources.

That also goes for insulation in the walls of the house, in your roof, making these resources more available. So that goes into our architecture or how we live our daily lives. There are also other ways like maybe the times of days that we move, like it is peak hour out there now, I’m sure a lot of people don’t want to be out there in this hot weather. Perhaps if we moved at different times or could potentially work at home to stop people being out in this extreme weather and getting heat stroke as well. But I would say we needed those changes and that cultural shift to start quite a while ago.”

I couldn’t agree more. We shouldn’t need to point out that double glazing is insulation. and it works both ways. It’s nice to have a scientist remind us that double glazing helps keep us cooler in summer, as well as warmer in winter.
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Will uPVC windows fade?

 

Will uPVC windows fade or discolour in the Australian sun?

Photo courtesy Magnus uPVC

Will uPVC Windows and Doors Fade In The Sun?

Some years ago, my wife and I replaced many of the old aluminium windows in our house with double-glazed doors. They’ve worked a treat, but there has been one problem. The frames were made of wood, and the wood obviously doesn’t enjoy our harsh Australian conditions. Within four years the first of the doors were drying and losing their colour. They work well and they look good, but there’s going to be a lifetime of maintenance keeping them looking good. I can do without that, and I’m sure you can, too.

So what would we do if we had our time over again? When we get around to replacing the remaining single-glazed windows with double glazing, our choice will almost certainly be uPVC framing. UPVC replacement windows already enjoy a majority of the market in the US, Europe and the UK. Why? Because uPVC is durable, it’s a great thermal insulator, it’s economical, and it’s low maintenance.

So, back to the question we started with, “will uPVC windows and doors fade in the sun?” Search the internet, and you may find customers who DID experience the problem. Ask suppliers of competing frame materials, and you may be given to understand that it’s a common problem with uPVC. The truth?

If you buy poor quality products they won’t perform as well as good quality ones! If the windows are brought in from overseas without being designed to meet our climatic extremes, without meeting Australian Standards, and not Certified under our Windows Energy Rating Scheme, then you could have a problem. Even windows made locally from inferior framing material could have the problem.

Ethical businesses have avoided the problem by only using top-quality uPVC profiles made from material tested to meet harsh Australian conditions. As a minimum, they would meet Australian Standard for Windows, AS2047 , and be Certified under WERS- the Australian Window Energy Rating Scheme .

Now, the whole uPVC industry is taking a huge step forward to ensure that the uPVC windows and doors you buy do NOT fade or discolour.

The uPVC Window Alliance, a program of the Australian Vinyl Council, has published an Australian Industry Code of Practice and Accreditation Scheme for uPVC windows and doors, aimed squarely at ensuring that uPVC windows and doors don’t fade or discolour. Read a full article here…

Measures like this, that raise the standards in our industry, are to be welcomed, encouraged and supported. Customers deserve no less.

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