4 ms·

Here in South Africa, single glazed is still a thing. I've been replacing all my windows with double glazing. I considered triple but that makes them very heavy

by sgt 4y ago

Here in South Africa, single glazed is still a thing. I've been replacing all my windows with double glazing. I considered triple but that makes them very heavy and expensive. Benefits are both in hot summer and in the relatively cold winter.

ido 4y ago
Where in South Africa? I would guess that along the coast the weather is never extreme enough for this to matter all that much?
- hrudham 4y ago
  Different South African here, but I grew up in Durban and now live in Cape Town, with regular visits to Johannesburg (2-4 times a year). Single-glazing is used in all three by default, despite the climate being quite different in all cases. Durban is tropical; winter (we joke that it doesn't have one) is dry, and summers are wet, but its warm year-round. Temperatures can vary quite a bit between seasons in Joburg and Cape Town. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate; summers are warm and windy, while winters are cold and wet, often getting to 7°C at night (it's a cloudless 25°C summers day today though). Joburg can get a little colder, although its a much more dry kind of cold.
- sgt 4y ago
  Cape Town. It matters a lot... actually, imagine 5C or even 10C outside and that cold just coming straight through the windows. That means you'll be freezing inside. In summer it also seems to help. Yesterday was 36C here and we had 25C indoors, which would had been much worse if we didn't have roof insulation and double glazed windows.
10u152 4y ago
My house in Australia is all single glazed. But where I live summers aren’t that hot (rarely over 30c) and winters aren’t cold (rarely less than 10c overnight). I’ve considered double glazing but it makes no sense really
- sgt 4y ago
  You will save on heating, though. If it's 10C outside and that cold creeps in, it's going to be pretty cold inside unless you run lots of heaters or a fireplace all the time. Not everyone is bothered by this though, but I think a house should have at least 21C in winter.
  - brabel 4y ago
    In Sweden, because of the crazy electricity prices, everyone is discussing right now how warm they should keep their houses. The idea is that a good citizen should save energy and therefore let the house get colder (also, to be "green" of course - but nothing like 5x more expensive energy to get people saving). They asked some politicians, most of them were saying between 19C and 21C.. one guy even said 15C, which everyone thinks is BS :D
    - xattt 4y ago
      Discussion of what temperature a house should be is preposterous. A well-insulated home would obviously use less energy to keep a comfortable temperature than one with drafts all over. Discussion should focus on energy budgets or total energy use, but that may be hard to conceptualize for the average Sven.
      - brabel 4y ago
        It's all about appearances. Everyone is now driving Teslas and electric Volvos. It's easy to make "efforts" when it shows your "virtuousity" or at least in your head, makes others admire you. You're never going to see rich people moving into much smaller homes that require 1/10th the electricity, which would actually contribute much more significantly to avoiding climate doom.
    - throwawaaarrgh 4y ago
      In Minnesota, New York, and some other places in the USA, 16C indoors isn't uncommon. I turn the heat down at bedtime and my room will be 13C when I wake up. But we're crazy and just like to prove we're tough, so...

by sgt 4y ago

ido 4y ago

Where in South Africa? I would guess that along the coast the weather is never extreme enough for this to matter all that much?

hrudham 4y ago
Different South African here, but I grew up in Durban and now live in Cape Town, with regular visits to Johannesburg (2-4 times a year). Single-glazing is used in all three by default, despite the climate being quite different in all cases. Durban is tropical; winter (we joke that it doesn't have one) is dry, and summers are wet, but its warm year-round. Temperatures can vary quite a bit between seasons in Joburg and Cape Town. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate; summers are warm and windy, while winters are cold and wet, often getting to 7°C at night (it's a cloudless 25°C summers day today though). Joburg can get a little colder, although its a much more dry kind of cold.
sgt 4y ago
Cape Town. It matters a lot... actually, imagine 5C or even 10C outside and that cold just coming straight through the windows. That means you'll be freezing inside. In summer it also seems to help. Yesterday was 36C here and we had 25C indoors, which would had been much worse if we didn't have roof insulation and double glazed windows.

10u152 4y ago

My house in Australia is all single glazed. But where I live summers aren’t that hot (rarely over 30c) and winters aren’t cold (rarely less than 10c overnight). I’ve considered double glazing but it makes no sense really

sgt 4y ago
You will save on heating, though. If it's 10C outside and that cold creeps in, it's going to be pretty cold inside unless you run lots of heaters or a fireplace all the time. Not everyone is bothered by this though, but I think a house should have at least 21C in winter.
- brabel 4y ago
  In Sweden, because of the crazy electricity prices, everyone is discussing right now how warm they should keep their houses. The idea is that a good citizen should save energy and therefore let the house get colder (also, to be "green" of course - but nothing like 5x more expensive energy to get people saving). They asked some politicians, most of them were saying between 19C and 21C.. one guy even said 15C, which everyone thinks is BS :D
  - xattt 4y ago
    Discussion of what temperature a house should be is preposterous. A well-insulated home would obviously use less energy to keep a comfortable temperature than one with drafts all over. Discussion should focus on energy budgets or total energy use, but that may be hard to conceptualize for the average Sven.
    - brabel 4y ago
      It's all about appearances. Everyone is now driving Teslas and electric Volvos. It's easy to make "efforts" when it shows your "virtuousity" or at least in your head, makes others admire you. You're never going to see rich people moving into much smaller homes that require 1/10th the electricity, which would actually contribute much more significantly to avoiding climate doom.
  - throwawaaarrgh 4y ago
    In Minnesota, New York, and some other places in the USA, 16C indoors isn't uncommon. I turn the heat down at bedtime and my room will be 13C when I wake up. But we're crazy and just like to prove we're tough, so...