Anyone who lives in the city has at some point or another wondered if it is possible to get a even a moment’s worth of silence
A window is technically nothing more than a mere opening in the wall above the floor level, the purpose of which is to achieve light, ventilation, and perhaps, a view. Of course, architecture has brought the scope of a window far away from serving such a basic function in today’s date, and as a result, the right type of windows could be the difference between a nice room, and a brilliant room.
As with everything else, the modern buyer today has a lot of different options to choose from in terms of the types of windows they may want installed in their homes or offices. Here is a basic guide to what the best options are, and what exactly they imply for your particular setting.
UPVC is by far one of the more popular materials when it comes to window framing, all across the world, as it should be. There is a wide variety of colours it is available in, the maintenance cost is relatively low, and there are the usual benefits that PVC has to offer, which are countless. The initials stand for Unplasticized polyvinyl chloride. Other names for UPVC in the world include simply vinyl, or vinyl siding.
There are several factors that make UPVC a superior material over other conventional choices for window frames, such as aluminium or wood. Here is a list of only some of the factors mentioned before:
Expansion/Contraction of Profile: Aluminium is known to have a very high thermal expansion coefficient, and is hence quite prone to damage in volatile terrain. Wood is inherently quite absorbent of moisture, as well as heat, and as a result inevitably expands and contracts, resulting in distortions and gaps. UPVC windows on the other hand, are manufactured from tropical formulation, and are hence most durable in such conditions.
Insulation from heat: Aluminium is a good conductor of heat, and therefore offers no insulation whatsoever from the same. Wood is a poor conductor of heat, but poor manufacturing or weather worn windows made of wood often do end up allowing heat to pass. UPVC windows, on the other hand, are a poor conductor of heat, and hence provide excellent insulation from outside heat.
Low Maintenance: UPVC windows require nothing more than periodic cleaning, whereas aluminium framework is quite prone to needing regular upkeep, and wooden paneling inevitably needs repeated polishing and painting as the wood ages.
Fire Safety: as far as catching on fire is concerned, aluminium windows have a very high melting point, and so don’t, but wooden window frames obviously do. UPVC is self extinguishing, and hence does not propagate fire. In terms of serving as good fire escapes, the wooden windows that are already on fire are obviously not the way to go, but neither are the aluminium windows, since both aluminium and glass have a very high melting point, and are hence not suited for quick getaways. UPVC frames would have suffered lower softening due to the heat, and therefore it is very easy to push the glass out of the frame in such an emergency situation.
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