In 2014, I wrote a blog titled “Do you suffer from Air Conditioning Guilt?” At the time the political landscape was filled with scare mongering about energy costs.
Three years on we are realising the lack of government leadership on this issue with no end in sight on the ENERGY debate and rising electricity and gas bills.
30% of the average household energy use being attributed to heating and cooling. We can reduce the need to always turning on the air conditioner if we have better designed and ultimately proper insulated homes. Can you imagine living in Europe without double or triple glazed windows? Then why live in Australia without solar control glazing or a louvre gallery perfectly placed in your home, so when the southerly buster hits it naturally cools down your home?
Well, the numbers vary but a conservative estimate is a building with good glazing will save around 20% on their energy bills. What is good glazing? Good question? It’s a bit like choosing milk – confusing with so many choices!
Who is responsible to provide consumers with choice? I think the designers of our homes, architects, window manufacturers and the builders that we entrust with our hard-earned dollars have a bigger role to play here. It pains me to see so much development in Sydney many with single clear glass in the windows. To me this is a big opportunity lost and will put more pressure on the wallets of those consumers trying to heat and cool these future apartments and ultimately more pressure on the grid. A fraction more investment up front at the construction stage to get the glazing right would save everyone down the road.
I love glass but I’m not kidding myself, I know that glass is a poor insulator. Glass is essential for all of us. We NEED to have natural light, a well-documented health benefit, we need to see our kids playing in the back yard, we need to see who’s walking up to our front door, we need to feel the sun on our face while we nap on the couch on a Sunday afternoon and of course for many lucky Aussie’s we need to look out to our beautiful coast line or into the green bush beyond – it good for our soul. We NEED glass.
The combination of glass choice available to assist with better insulating our living spaces and therefore ultimately reducing our energy bills is almost as diverse as choosing milk these days: Double Glazed, Triple Glazed, Single Glazed Low-E solar controlled, Louvre galleries, toned glass, and of courseLouvreouble glazing custom combinations are endless.
Yes, improved building insulation materials which form the thermal envelope of a building are no doubt more expensive in the beginning compared to more traditional building materials, but what is the future cost of living in a poorly insulated building?
It can be a mind field and that’s where Greater Glass can assist you. If you are unsure what glass and options are available and how it can make your home or office more energy efficient and comfortable, we are here to help so contact us today.