You may already know that insulated glass windows save you hundreds of dollars each year in energy costs, but do you know how they work?
When making insulated windows in our Jacksonville, Florida production facility, we always keep three key metrics in mind: R-value, U-value, and emissivity.
R-value measures the insulation power of a material – glass, in our case. If a window has a high R-value, it traps heat well. That means that sunlight isn’t as likely to fry your home in the summer months, and winter’s cooler air won’t leave you chilly.
U-value is the opposite of R-value, and measures the heat loss of the glass. The higher the U-value, the quicker the glass will lose heat.
The spacer is the part of the window that separates the two panes in an insulated glass window. A good-fitting spacer helps to keep the U-value low (see the image to the left). At Lee and Cates Glass, we only use top quality spacers to ensure minimal heat loss.
Finally, insulated glass windows feature Low-E coatings. (The E stands for emissivity.) These thin coatings are applied during the manufacturing process, and reduce the amount of solar heat that enters the glass panes by preventing air from passing through. The coatings are put on both panes of your window, and work to maintain a stable temperature in your home.
These elements combined are what produce the highly effective and money-saving insulated glass windows at Lee and Cates. To learn more about how our insulated glass windows can save you money, call or stop by our nearest location.