Glass is available in dual pane or triple pane sealed units, with or without Low-E coatings, and argon insulating gas. Triple pane insulated glass units with the proper combination of Low-E reflective coatings and Argon gas will keep your home more comfortable all year round. With this triple pane glass combination, you can have a window that is four to five times warmer than that of a standard dual pane window for just a small percentage more in cost, which will be recovered in energy cost savings.
The better the glass unit is insulated, the higher the humidity you can have without fear of condensation. From a comfort standpoint, the closer you can sit to the window without feeling coolness and your home will have a more even consistent temperature. From an energy and savings standpoint, your heating or cooling system will cycle less costing less money on your homes overall cost to operate.
All of our Insulated Glass units are IGMAC certified. IGMAC stands for Insulating Glass Manufacturers Association of Canada. The manufacturing plant, their procedures and their sealed units are examined and tested and the manufacturer has to agree to document a test of one unit from each days manufacturing run. The manufacturer also agrees to random ongoing inspections of their product, daily testing and manufacturing procedures. The benefit to the consumer is peace of mind knowing that stringent quality control procedures have been followed in the manufacturing of their new windows.
Maintaining a comfortable indoor environment is a challenge when temperatures can fluctuate drastically throughout the day and in extreme changes in temperature with the different seasons.
In the winter and cooler months, select Low-E coatings help significantly lower heating costs and improve insulating value of your glass by as much as 50% over standard clear glass. This means that less interior heat is lost through your windows and the room-side glass temperatures stay warm, helping to maintain a uniform comfort throughout the home.
In the summer and hotter days, solar heat gain and damaging UV rays can be significantly reduced without sacrificing a clear view and daylight. The proper Low-E coatings block up to 50% more unwanted solar energy than standard clear glass and up to 40% more than even dark tinted glass. The result is lower air conditioning expenses and a more comfortable living environment.
We offer two different Low-E coatings both having different purposes.
See their brochures in our Documentation section.
Low-E is suitable for chilly climates like the northern U.S. and Canada where winter temperatures regularly plummet below the freezing point, low-E glass in your windows is the first line of defense. ClimaGuard 80/71 coated residential glass is designed to maximize solar heat gain and retain indoor heat. Homeowners can get the visible light they desire and the insulating power they need. ClimaGuard 80/71 will allow up to 80% of natural sunlight in with less UV protection and a much higher SHGC. One thing to consider with high solar heat gain coatings is how they will perform in a hot Saskatchewan summer when compared to a more balanced Low-E coating such as ClimaGuard 70.
Low-E coating insulates your glass in the winter, blocks heat in the summer, and works to keep your home comfortable and energy efficient all year long. Plus, it provides a uniform, neutral appearance with a hint of reflectivity to enhance the beauty of any home. ClimaGuard 70 allows natural sunlight to brighten your home with up to 70% of the suns visible light while blocking harmful UV light, extending the life of your woodwork, carpet and furnishings. It will help you save on utility bills and has an attractive neutral appearance to enhance the beauty of any home.
Argon gas is an insulator that tremendously improves the windows energy efficiency. Argon has a higher density than air and provides greater thermal insulation at all times. Argon helps creates a sealed unit with a lower U Value which in turn lowers the transfer of heat from the inside of your home to the outside and the transfer of cold from the outside coming in. It also gives remarkable noise suppression reducing traffic, railway, and other unwanted noise.
Protect your most precious possessions - choose Health Smart Windows® made with Super Spacer® for your home and family.
What is the Super Spacer®?
Super Spacer® is a flexible, silicone foam spacer that provides the maximum in perimeter insulation for sealed insulating glass units. It features a pre-applied adhesive that bonds to the glass with a continuous vapour barrier backing. It retains its flexibility over a wide temperature range, has excellent resistance to ozone, UV light, wind load and barometric pressure.
We use a commercial grade Super Spacer TriSeal system in our sealed units with this NO-Metal Advantage because traditional metal spacers will conduct heat and cold – causing condensation at the edge of the glass. The edge of a sealed unit or (IG unit) is the most vulnerable part of the window to heating and cooling losses, condensation and frosting. Super Spacer® contains no metal and is one of the most thermally efficient spacers available on the market today.
Super Spacer® TriSeal™ is a premium choice for all commercial insulating needs including silicone structural glazing. Super Spacer TriSeal provides a unique triple seal design which incorporates an inner acrylic adhesive seal for immediate unit handling, a polyisobutylene primary seal for enhanced gas retention and low moisture vapor transmission, and an outer silicone seal for proven structural strength and superior durability.
Super Spacer® Features include the following:
For the most energy efficient and durable windows with added benefits of improved sound absorption and less chance of condensation, choose Super Spacer® for Your home and family. Paired with high performance glass, that's the Health Smart Windows® advantage.
Research done by Health Canada found that Super Spacer® helped IG units(sealed units) stay in the optimum low humidity zone that prevents mold and bacterial growth. Too much condensation in your home can lead to more than bacteria and molds. It can increase the likelihood of fungi, viruses and mites that cause respiratory infections, allergies and asthma.
Decorative grills, or muntin bars, are metal bars that are placed in between the glass panes of your window in various patterns. They can give your windows the appearance of being divided into smaller panes of glass, allowing your new windows to maintain or change the character of your home.
Grills are offered in a number of colors and sizes to suite your taste and desired pattern. Being that they are placed between the glass of your windows, they are maintenance free, require no upkeep and leave you with a smooth window surface for easy cleaning. These rigid grills do not touch the glass eliminating thermal bridging.
When designing your new windows, decorative grills can be used to accent the architectural design of your home.
Obscure glass contains an inlayed pattern or texture for use when privacy or decorative applications are required. Whether for privacy or design, this glass allows maximum light in your room while maintaining the level of privacy or obscurity that you desire. Obscure glass can be used for privacy in your bathroom or perhaps a garage to keep the toys out of site from foot traffic. It can also be added for a decorative look to other windows in your home.
We offer two kinds of Decorative/Privacy glass options for you to choose from. The pictures below show the how these two types of glass, when compared to clear glass, can obscure your view and offer privacy to different degrees.