Improving Thermal Performance of Dwelling Single Glass Windows Using Secondary Glazing in the UK

Abstract

In the globe, 40% of heat losses in domestic buildings were caused by single glazing windows usage and around 20% were due to air infiltration. Therefore, an improvement for the single glaze windows and reducing the air infiltration must be considered to lower the energy consumption. This study aims to investigate the thermal performance of secondary glazing sheet on the ordinary windows in the low-income dwellers. The PVC sheets were used as the secondary glazing which easy to tailor and fit into the windows frame in the living room. Besides, a commercial foam insulation tape was used to seal the air leakage of the windows. The indoor and outdoor temperatures of a living room, pre- and post-retrofitting, were measured and the U-values were compared based on ISO 9869:2014 standard. It is found that the respective temperature differences between indoor and outdoor at pre- and post-retrofitting were 5.6 °C and 8.6 °C. The post-retrofitting indoor temperature was more stable with fewer fluctuations compared to the pre-treatment. Furthermore, the U-values were improved by 57% where the number before and after retrofitting found to be 5.71±0.01 W/m2K and 3.23±0.01 W/m2K, respectively. Obviously, the utilisation of the proposed glazing and diminishing the air infiltration on a single glazing windows play the key role on improving the thermal comfort, cheaper than commercial double glazing, eco-friendly, and easy to install.