Insulated Glass Walls for Cold Climates

How to Keep Your Window and Doors Well Insulated

Monarch Glass Walls

Irrespective of all the amenities and facilities which you can think of to make a house or apartment luxurious, the most vital aspect which makes a house livable is the insulation it provides from harsh weather conditions.  This is especially significant in areas where the weather variations are extreme.  Providing good insulation is vital for getting full benefit from the heating and cooling system of the home.  In addition to this, a fully insulated house would help you to save a substantial amount from heating and cooling charges.

There are two important functions of a good insulation.  Firstly, insulation should help to trap the heat inside so that the house is kept warm during cold seasons.  Secondly a good insulation should be able to keep the house cool during summer by not permitting heat inside.  Another benefit of insulating a house is to keep the inmates protected from adverse weather conditions.  The thermal conductivity of insulating materials is measured using R values and the aim should be to get maximum R value.

If you want to keep your house well insulated, you need to focus on adequately insulating your doors and windows.  It is normally through doors and windows that air movement happens thus adversely affecting the heating and air conditioning.  Even without any movement of air, the heat can easily penetrate through the glass of doors or windows during summer and the heat from inside can also escape during cold seasons.

While constructing a new home or renovating an existing one, you need to give prime importance to check and ensure that the insulation is properly done.  This would include insulating materials inside walls, floor and roof.  However, the most important places to properly check would be the doors and windows. 

The R value of a house can significantly improve by making changes to doors and windows. This would include double glazing or coating the glass with insulating materials.  One of the modern methods to get full benefit of outside view, openness and natural light while keeping the house fully insulated is to install glass walls.  As compared to normal glass and even traditional partitions, glass walls have very high level of insulation while retaining the transparency of glass.  Glass walls also keep the house fully secured and protected from natural elements and insects. 

Implementing Glass Wall Partitions in a Home

Modern Houses and Glass Wall Partitions

Due to limitations of space, especially in metropolitan cities, modern apartments tend to be increasingly smaller and also there is a limitation in getting natural lighting.  Hence, the current trend is to make maximum use of available natural light and adopt interior themes which make the space look open and expansive.  Both these objectives can be achieved by judicious use of glass partitions.

Glass partitions are available made with clear or textured glass. In addition, you can also obtain them in different tints, shades and colors.  Let us discuss the various uses of glass partitions.

One of the preferred methods adopted by designers to make the apartments roomier is to go for an open floor plan.  This is made possible by using glass walls or dividers.  These dividers can be of clear, textured or stained glass. Textured glass can provide privacy and can be used in areas such as bedrooms and bath.  However since they are translucent, you may not be able to take maximum advantage of natural light. 

If your apartment is smaller in space, traditional walls can make it appear even smaller.  Use of Glass partitions instead of traditional walls would render the feeling of space even in cramped spaces.  You can use glass partitions between dining room and kitchen, living room and kitchen, bedroom and living room etc. depending on the requirements of each apartment.  Use of glass partitions can make both the room appear considerably bigger. In case you want to introduce an element of privacy, you can still use curtains, which can be drawn in when required.

The advantage of using stained glass is that they provide privacy in specific areas, while allowing the light to permeate. Stained glass would be ideal to separate a bedroom and attached bathroom. In single room apartments stained glass can be used to create sleeping space with privacy.  You can also use a stained partition to keep the clutter out of children’s room by making a separate play area.

Glass walls are great for separating and allocating spaces in offices and apartments. Glass partitions are available in panels with metal or wooden frame.  These types of walls can be used to separate balconies and living areas to bring in natural light and fresh air.  Movable glass walls are ideal in apartments as they can provide a panoramic view of the surroundings and provide seamless integration between interior and exterior areas of an apartment.

These are some of the reasons why it is trendy to use glass partitions in modern apartments and offices.