Glass insulation
The benefits of glass insulation
Most houses in Duinoord have large (sliding) windows, often with single glazing and upper windows with stained glass. These large windows are characteristic of the protected cityscape of our district, but not very ideal for insulation. Glass easily conducts heat to the outside.
Replacing single glass with insulating glass results in energy savings of an average of 10 m3 of gas per year per square meter of insulating glass. Insulating glass also increases comfort, because you are less affected by a cold downdraught at the windows and the noise from outside is substantially reduced.
Materials
In most cases it is possible to install insulating glass in the existing frames. The condition is that the frames are still good. There are various possibilities:
- HR ++ glass
This is double glass with a special coating and filled with an insulating gas that increases the insulation value (HR ++ ). This glass is quite thick (22 mm) and usually has to be placed in the rebate using rebated glazing bars. As a result, the appearance of the house can change and in some cases sliding windows can no longer be used.
- Monumental glass (HR+ )
This glass is similar to HR glass, but has a smaller distance between the inner pane and the outer pane. This allows it to be placed in the rebate with some milling work without glazing bars. The face and the sliding function of the windows are retained. The insulation value of monumental glass is slightly lower (HR ). NB! This glass is not eligible for subsidy.
- Vacuum glass (HR+++ )
In the case of vacuum glass (consisting of 2 thin glass plates that are kept apart by distance conductors) With this type of glass, the space between the two glass plates is vacuumed, so that hardly any heat conduction can take place from the inside to the outside. Despite a very small total thickness of 7-8 mm, vacuum glass has a high insulation value (HR ), but is more expensive than the other types of insulating glass. The advantage of vacuum glass is that it almost always fits into the existing rebates, sometimes without milling.
Stained glass
The stained glass in the upper windows is often the place where the most heat is lost. Something can also be done about this by retaining the existing stained glass. You can work with a secondary window, but it is also possible to have the existing stained glass wrapped in double glazing. Ask the glass company about the possibilities,
No frame replacement
Replacing the frames with new wooden, plastic or aluminum frames is not part of this collective action. Window replacement is often not necessary, requires an environmental permit and is by definition custom work, often at higher costs. In addition, the often more than 100-year-old window frames are made of the best quality wood that is no longer available.
For that reason, Triple glass is not part of this promotion. Triple glass (consisting of 3 glass plates with a coating and insulating gas) has a high insulation value, but is so thick that the window frames must also be replaced.
Insulation value
The insulation value of glass is expressed in a U-value. This number expresses how well the glass transmits heat to the outside. The lower this number, the better the glass insulates.
The picture shows the effect of the different types of glass. If it is 0 degrees outside and the central heating is at 20 degrees inside, single glazing on the inside is only 5.5 degrees cold, while HR is 18.5 degrees.
The RVO stipulates that the insulating glass must have a U-value of 1.2 or lower (HR or HR ). This means you also meet the standard for home insulation.
Please note: monumental glass (HR ) does not meet these conditions and is not eligible for subsidy.
Costs and savings
- The costs for glass insulation depend on the glass used:
- HR++ -glas: €450 - €475 m2
- Monumentenglas: €450 - €475 per m2.
- Vacuum glass: €700 - €750 per m2.
- You receive a subsidy of € 23 per m2 for the insulating glass. That amount is doubled if you take 2 measures.
- If you want to fit the windows of a typical living room in Duinoord (2 sliding windows at the front and patio doors at the back) with insulating glass, it will cost you once:
- HR++ glass: € 6300,-
- Monument glass: € 6750,-
- Vacuum glass: € 10,000
- This investment results in gas savings of approximately 150 m3 per year. At current energy prices, this is a saving of € 220 per year.
- Read an explanation of the calculation example here.
With glass insulation, the ratio between costs and savings is less favorable than with other measures. Nevertheless, glass insulation is a wise investment. In addition to saving gas, it provides more comfort in your home, because you are much less affected by the cold at the windows. In addition, there is less noise from outside and the value of your home will increase. Glass insulation is even necessary if you are considering heating your home at a lower temperature.
Glass insulation companies
