RogerM wrote:Phil wrote:BUT! The gripe ……………………..
In summer the aluminium frame gets so hot you can’t even touch it and all that heat goes straight into the house negating any benefits of the insulation and Low-E!
In winter just the opposite - the frame gets as cold as the outside temperature (this last winter we had had lots of 4c days) so again negating a lots of the so-called energy benefits.
Phil - I'm really surprised that there isn't an effective thermal break in the frames, because as you say, heat will flow downhill in either direction. Do you have a condensation problem on the internal frames on a cold day too?
I remember our first house in 1978 was an old red sandstone cottage near Penrith with absolutely zero insulation in the loft. We got a grant to insulate it with 4^ of fibreglass. I started out working in the loft on a bitterly cold day in my shirtsleeves, and by the time I'd finished I had to put on a thick sweater, the difference was so marked. The ceiling under the flat roof bedroom extension above the garage was inaccessible, and clearly lacked insulation of any type, but luckily we were newlyweds so keeping warm wasn't a problem
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Roger I am sitting in the North bedroom which is ideal in winter (warm) and summer (cool). But there are the couple of months where the sun is moving that makes this room very hot
At the moment I am sitting bare feet and just a pair of shorts.
If I feel the sliding door frame in the middle is so hot that I struggle to keep my hand on it. It burns.
Where we live the temps are:
Winter 0c to 21c This past winter was the coldest in the 6 years we have been living here. Very heavy white frost and also black frost which does more damage than the white. Looks like we have lost our one tree to the cold.
Even the garage/workshop is ok in winter to work (North facing aluminium door)
Summer 14c to 40c
The bathroom is the coolest place in summer and I have debated on chucking a mattress on the floor and sleeping there
The only time we have condensation is in the bathrooms when we shower in winter, but then we also open the window and it quickly disappears.
Thermal breaks - people here would think you are swearing!
Mike G wrote:Last time I was in SA it was barely possible to get double glazing, and virtually no-one had it. My house here is triple glazed, with timber window frames. The level of insulation, too, is in stark contrast to yours. New builds here will have at least 250mm of fibreglass in the loft, and if they have a large window area then this will be bumped up to well over 300.I've got 500mm in mine......and the equivalent of 300mm in my walls, compared with the normal 100mm. SA has such high levels of sunlight (never mind the temperature), that it would be child's play to design houses that had no heating or cooling requirements. I say again....no need for heating or air conditioning. I've pulled my hair out trying to persuade people in your wonderful country that this is not only easily (and cheaply) attainable, but also a target worth aiming at.
Mike agree with you.
That is why this Low-E should be ideal.
We have ceramic tiles right through except the 3 bedrooms with carpets. The tiles should retain the heat better in winter and are cooler in summer.
I am considering installing some of those 1000mm clear awnings over the large doors.
Unfortunately we decided on the stacking doors on the West living room, which bakes in the sun. It leads to our patio which we don't use because you would die of heat stroke. (this was decided when we signed off the plans not realising the heat factor.)
Other houses have installed aluminium awnings ALA over their patios which is all very well but it makes the rooms so much darker and a lot less winter sun. I cant handle dark rooms. (think old house with huge ALA)
At this point it needs to be noted that the wife is still wearing a track-top. She is the one who gets cold and the reason we moved to this place which is right next to the entrance to hell or some hidden volcano.