How Windows Influence a Building’s Envelope Design

For the longest time, windows were thought to simply be a passage of fresh air from the outdoors to quaint indoors. However, with the advent of innovation in the materials being used for making windows, such as the uPVC windows, these openings in the house’s structure have become much more than just a means of ventilation and enhancing the décor of the place. Windows highly influence the envelope design of the house as well.

To understand what the envelope design is, we first need to understand what environment separators are. They are any parts of the building that separates the interiors from the exterior. Envelope design is the collection of all such separators. Now let’s look at how windows help to enhance the envelop design of the house.

• Role of Windows: As mentioned before, the role of windows has now expanded considerably. From protecting us from the natural forces on the outside and giving us a glimpse of the outdoors, they now have a major influence on the envelop design. They not only enhance the aesthetics of the house but also add on to the energy saving capabilities. uPVC doors windows are best at increasing energy efficiency indoors, thereby promoting a greener lifestyle.
• Optimizing Efficiency of Windows: Glazing optimizes the efficiency of windows by leaps and bounds. Glazing can be transparent or translucent type, and greatly affects the thermal and visual comfort of the interiors, thus adding on to the envelop design of the house. They do so by controlling the amount of daylight that can filter in, which in turn affects the natural illumination and moderates the amount of solar heat that is taken by the building.
• High Performance Windows: While buying windows for enhancing the envelope design of the house a number of factors are considered, such as the U-factor of the windows, solar heat gain coefficient, visible transmittance, and condensation resistance. Windows with a lower U-factor offer better resistance to heat, thus are better insulators and provide a more efficient envelop design. The energy costs are lowered as an optimal temperature is maintained indoors, which helps in reducing the heat, ventilation and air conditioning expenses.

Windows made of certain materials can help to optimize the efficiency of the envelope design of the house. Since they make the house more energy efficient and create a visual and thermal comfort on the inside, it is important that these windows are chosen with care and consideration.