As the last few weeks of summer run down, Canadians want to enjoy that handful of remaining hot days. However you decide to spend that time, it’s likely that the upcoming winter is an afterthought for most. But proactive homeowners will get the jump on having their house – particularly the windows – ready to go when that first cold snap hits.
As much as we want the summer to go on forever in Canada, the reality is that we only really have about four hot months,” says John Geraghty, owner of Wellington Windows. “You can look at it this way. For that time, we want our windows to keep the heat out of the house. For the other two-thirds of the year, we want the windows to let in that heat from the sun.
“We’re about to embark on those months.”
Geraghty says that keeping the heat and cool air in are essentially two separate conversations. Glass can have multiple layers of coating, which can be adjusted. It’s a similar concept to tinting with sunglasses, a process designed to keep UV rays out. The more UV that is kept from the house, the less your glass is allowing the sun to heat your house for those eight colder months of the year.
The fact is insulated glass is a must in Canada. And Geraghty’s products of choice come from Cardinal Glass Industries, one of the most prominent and respected glass companies in North America.
“We have a wide variety of Cardinal coatings at Wellington Windows,” says Geraghty.
They include:
- Low E 180
- Low E 272
- Low E 366
- I 89
These four options can all be applied to a glass surface to stop UV from coming into your house. They are the “sunglasses.” But, when you want to keep the heat in for those eight months approaching, the coatings don’t have an impact. We need another solution.
What do you do when you’re cold in bed? You put another blanket on.
That’s where the concept of layers comes in. Glass comes in single-pane, double-pane, and triple-pane forms. In both extreme hot and cold conditions, the more layers the better. The additional panes do not keep UV out, but they do assist with keeping cold or hot air in. This makes your home more comfortable to live in, and when the installation is done properly, you will see an improvement in energy efficiency.
“You want to strike a balance,” says Geraghty. “You can have a coating on the triple-pane. It keeps the UV out in the summer and keeps the cold air in. But in the winter, triple-pane will also keep the house warm.
Cardinal Glass Industries products are specially engineered to be more durable than most products on the market, while greatly reducing the risk of condensation. Cardinal’s Endur IG and XL EDGE IG technologies implemented in all of their glass products mean a significantly lower failure rate.
See the graph below for an example of Endur IG performance:
“We wish summer lasted forever,” says Geraghty. “I know we don’t like to think about it, but it’s going to get cold soon.
“Cardinal separates itself from the industry average by providing a product with a much lower failure rate than most on the market. The way I see it, if you’re going to do it, do it right.
Visit https://wellingtonwindows.ca/cardinal-glass/ to see the company’s option with this state-of-the-art brand.