Badge

Hi

Me and the Missus are doing some long term planning vis a vis house buying.

As you all know, many Australian homes in the southern states are cold at nights.

We have discovered that double glazing is prohibitive in Australia and certainly not the norm, but wondered if the cost was worth it if it meant we saved fuel costs. Does anyone have any scientific/empirical stats about the cost/benefits of this? Clearly there is no point in installing glazing if the cost is so great there is no return, (esp if the inital outlay has to be funded).

There is also, of course, the environmental consideration.

rgds,

Badge

scutterUK

..i'm not expert on double glazing, thank god, but isn't it also supposed to keep heat out in the summer? Just a thought.

joh117

Would it make any difference. They are so badly insulated in comparison to the UK and our mates are just doing an extension and I was shocked that they put plaster board on the ceiling and walls but they don't meet there is a great gap and that is where the cornice comes in.

Our windows do let a fair old draft in especially when windy like tonight the internal doors rattle.

I guess its probably worth weighing up the cost

Jo

Megalania

1. Check ceiling insulation.

2. Full length curtain & pelmet does a better job than double glazing as curtains only open during daytime when Aus outside temp higher than locales where double glazing is common.

3. Check wall cavity insulation.

Larissa

Perhaps line the house with Polystyrene- Plaster board stuff. We've done this in our UK house and it has made a huge difference and reduced condensation. We had the walls skimmed after, but had to move door frames etc.
You will lose most of the heat from the ceiling and walls. Check door seals etc. and fit draught excluders.
I also wonder how much heat is lost through the floor (although heat rises) due to houses being built off the ground?
BTW Parents house in Greece has double glazing (gets very cold in winter) but it is still gets really cold because of the single layer of bricks.
Also check the depth and quality of the ceiling insulation.

HUP

Would that be the chewed up cardboard crossed with fluff (and mouse poo). If so we got that

Hevs says that the pelmet and full length jobbies would

a) Have only been mentioned by a woman. Is she or isnt he?
b) That ain't no good in a bathroom and a kitchen. Only a bloke would think they were Is she or isnt he? By the way double glazing works great in bathroom as we have just had it installed ($700 for two small windows, UPVC)


[/QUOTE]

What that bit of bacofoil. Check. We got that

SO WHYS ITS SO GODAMN COLD

Single brick
crap windows.
inch gaps under doors (Including front door)
slate floor
no heating
and ........


We live in Melbourne

young_lad

If you're going purely on a cost basis (ie initial cost of insulation versus savings in fuel bills) then double glazing is rarely worth it. You have to stay in the property a *long* time before the outlay as paid for itself. The closest thing to facts and figures I could find are from the Pilkington site and the Lancashire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre.

But then even the figures provided by both those sites cannot be definitive because they probably assume a better standard of construction (insulation in roof/walls etc) than found in Australia.

young_lad

This site is more relevant. It suggests it takes 20 years for the initial installation costs to be repaid by savings in heating bills.

Megalania

What a sook - Melb min 9°C and you're into the CAPITALS.

Obviously Hevs has been left to do the Bunnings shopping.

HEVS, instead of hubby's old newspaper and mouse poo ceiling insulation invention, get it done proper - Hire A Hubby

Err, get orf the couch and CLOSE the curtains, YOURSELF.

Err, SWITCH ON the HEATER in the bathroom.

Err, ...

Wol

Just a few points:

Cavity wall filling: do it at your own risk! Once the stuff's in it's VERY expensive to get it out again. The UF foam system is banned - rightly - in many countries and can cause horrible problems to your health. The cavity is there for a reason and filling it is often a very bad idea. ( I speak as one who had it done....)

Double glazing: what the energy audit people don't tell you (probably because they don't think that much) is the cost of replacing "blown" sealed units. They only last about 15 years on a sunward side. I have had to spend well over £1000 replacing half of the southern aspect units this last year and still have around 6 to go. They are nice and snug, keep the noise out but save energy/money in the long run: NO!

You might break the odd single glazed pane, but you don't have to replace them as a maintenance item!

jandjuk

dunno much, but I saw this recently on the NZ pink batts website... some good curtains might do the trick for that 12%. I'd worry about the roof and the walls.

markeh

Hiya badgersmount,

it's an interesting one that you have raised.

Well you know the UK norm, double glazing. I never thought about what Oz would have.

I think that you could get better returns from cutting down on draughs, and then insulating the roof and walls.

I think the illustartion above is a good guide.
Remember if you have AC you will also benefit from better insullation.

Bye
Mark

Larissa

I would focus on insulating the house before even considering heating, or you will feel it all going... bit like my parents house. Forgot to mention that we have floor insulation here, under our laminate. You could also do it under parquet flooring, I reckon. We must have the most insulated house in the UK lol!
Our floors are all quite warm to walk on barefoot. However, I wonder how much air circulation you need for Aussie homes... those that are built raised from the ground. I also wonder about termite checks etc.?
PS Blim is an environmental engineer, bordering on the obsessive. I will have to go through all the insulating stuff with him in Aus. Hope he doesn't need to rip the house to bits though lol.
Also, have you thought about installing the double glazing yourself? We have done a couple of windows ourselves and it's easy when you know how. Another option would be shutters... parents have posh security shutters in Greece, combined with the double glazing. Keeps the sunlight down, allows a good draught when you need it and incorporates fly screens. Cost a bomb, imported from Germany.

Bordy

Your just married Badge, Surely you can find ways to keep warm !!!!

markeh

Hiya Larissa,

I'm alway's amazed how much some of the things cost to have fitted to houses. I'm a firm believer in DIY and after watching lots of windows being fitted don't believe it is beyond me.

You can alrerady buy them in the Uk from big DIY shops, Wicks etc

I don't know about Oz?

bye
Mark