Single Glazing vs Double Glazing

[silentC]

Yes, looks like those blithering idiots are at it again.

It will be very interesting to see what does happen down our way when it comes in. If they start forcing people to put in air conditioners, it will probably lead to open revolt. Currently, our average temperature at midday is 26 degrees. What am I going to do with an air conditioner?

I read somewhere that they had created climactic zones and that these were supposed to be an input to the process. It would be totally ludicrous to assess a house in Darwin on the same criteria you would use in Melbourne. Having said that, I can easily believe that this is exactly what they are doing.

[simon c]

Fiasco is right.

Our last three houses have been desiged (carefully) to take account of climate, (ecohouses in modern jingoistic talk) and all were extremely successful, warm in winter and cool in summer.

I had them checked out by a friend who was in the process of becoming a certified assessor, and they all barely made a couple of stars. (Despite the fact that we have no need for air conditioning, ceiling fans or heating!)
:confused: :confused: :confused:

Turns out the software in use (by legislation) was set up to Victorian standards with no account of the different climatic conditions here. Heaven help the blokes in Townsville.

To make matters worse, the guys driving it (by and large-there are SOME clever certifiers) have no understanding of how to make a house work with climate. In one situation I was forced by the certifier to provide a one metre wide awning to a ground floor window facing west, despite the fact that it was four metres from a two storey building in the same complex, and therefore in complete shade from about 2.pm in summer, and never caught winter sun!!!

Aaaaaaarrrrghhhh..... these are the same people that throw rocks at coppers .... I'm sure of that!!!

Death to the Blithering idiots!!

P

I agree it is a fiasco, but some of the problems you are quoting appear to be problems with interpretation by the assessors. The software uses the climate zone you are in, so if you are in a different zone then it will adjust to that. Also, there is a comment about if your property is significantly overshadowed by a building, then the software calcs don't apply and you have demonstrate a different way.

PS I'm fundamentally in agreement with this process - so many new houses going up in Victoria over the last few years have been terribly designed - large windows to living agreas that face the sun all day and have no eaves so the aircon just pumps out. However, if they don't get this right - then a good idea will suffer through bad implementation.

[journeyman Mick]

..........Death to the Blithering idiots!!

P

I was going to weigh in with something here, but it looks like MIdge beat me to it! Quoting me, from memory .

Mick

[ChrisH]

I think you will find double glazing is MUCH cheaper than that low-E glass. I compared about a year ago and the low e glass was astronomical yet didn't perform as well as double glazing.

I made my own windows with double glazing - I'm in the otways in south west Vic, so it actually makes sense here. I made the timber frames and bought double glazing inserts made by MOEN glass in Bayswater, an outer suburb of Melbourne. Their prices are amazingly low, they were a pleasure to deal with and delivered the units to me out in the sticks for about $300. They deal all over the country so Sydney should be no problem. I couldn't recommend them higher.
During installation I broke one unit - naturally it was the biggest one. As only one pane was broken I carefully removed the broken glass, cleaned up the frame, phoned a local glass joint for a price for a single sheet of glass so I could repair the broken unit - $96.
I phoned Moens for the cost of a complete new double glazed insert - $63. Go figure.

The energy rating systems (I'm not familiar with basix) consider frame material as well as glazing - are you proposing aluminium frames? They always rate worse than plastic or timber, as aluminium conducts heat very effectively so defeats the use of insulation elsewhere.
The current Owner Builder magazine has an excellent article on the serious problems with these energy rating softwares, how they come up with nonsensical results.

Chris