Five insulating air chambers, combined with uPVC’s natural thermal resistance and smart glazing deliver outstanding temperature control performance, creating a more comfortable and cost-effective home.
Windows and doors generally account for one third of the exterior wall area of your home, and can significantly affect how much energy you retain, levels of condensation, how comfortable your home is year-round plus heating and cooling costs.
Our standard offering windows are being used in NZ's first 10 Homestar Built rated home in Christchurch. They are exactly the same as what we manufacture and install for 75% of our clients - both new build and renovation. The combination of aluplast Ideal 4000 Series uPVC frames with double glazing including argon gas, Low-E coating and Thermix® spacer far exceeds NZ Building Code requirements and is a perfect solution for South Island conditions.
See our short video on how we can make your home warmer
Read this paper to understand the difference in thermal perfoamcne between uPVC, aluminium and wood
Health and well-being
No one likes being cold and there is no need to tolerate a cold home
Too many New Zealand homes are cold and damp. Too many new homes are cold and damp - yes, this includes homes built to the current NZ Building Code requirements! The health benefits to you and your family - and society as a whole - of a warm, dry and condensation-free housing stock should not be underestimated. No one enjoys living in a cold and damp house and it is quite simply bad for your health and general well-being. Condensation breeds mould and its harmful spores. The World Health Organisation recommends a room temperature of 18°C and 20°C if children, older people, or people who are unwell are in the home. Keeping bedrooms warm at night (minimum 18°C) is particularly important to protect lung health and prevent hospital admissions for illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, rheumatic fever. See what MBIE's Science Media Centre says about New Zealand's cold houses and associated health issues.
If you want to be warm and comfortable, then don't treat the NZ Building Code as a target. It should be treated for what it is, which is a minimum legal standard!
Superior glazing options
New Zealand has over one million homes with little or no insulation, and even modern, well-insulated homes are still losing up to 50% of their heat through single-glazed windows. Double-glazing will significantly reduce heat loss, and make for a warmer, drier, healthier home for you and your family.
Double-glazed uPVC windows and doors from NK Windows will help keep generated heat inside, maintaining a more consistent temperature and cutting down your energy-use costs. Our standard double glass units achieve an R (window) Value of R 0.40/ U 2.51 and R 0.84 / U 1.19 with argon gas and Low E coating, far outperforming any thermally broken aluminium joinery on the New Zealand market today.
NK Windows’ triple-glazed panels result in even greater thermal efficiency and comfort with R (window) Value of R 1.20/ U 0.83.
Warm edge spacers
Spacers separate the panes of glass within a double (or triple) glazed unit. Conventional spacers made of aluminium act as a thermal bridge, causing the internal edge of the glazing panel to cool down rapidly when outside temperatures drop, despite a good level of warmth in the room. This results in the loss of valuable heating energy. Better thermal insulation makes for a more comfortable home and lower heating costs.
Warm edge spacers are standard on all NK Windows Systems. Using a thermal spacer makes for a significant reduction in heat loss relative to the window as a whole, and plays a particularly vital role in helping drive down your heating bills.
Twin rubber seals
Specially formulated twin rubber seals, one on the sash and one on the frame, ensure that your windows and doors are sealed tight when closed and keeps out moisture, dust, noise and the cold. The seals are formulated to withstand New Zealand's UV radiation and our harsh weather conditions, including those found in coastal and alpine environments.
A comparison
|
Most existing NZ homes current situation |
|||
|
Frame |
Glass |
R-value |
U-value |
|
Aluminium |
Single Glazed |
0.15 |
6.66 |
|
Wooden |
Single Glazed |
0.19 |
5.26 |
|
Aluminium |
Double Glazed |
0.28 |
3.55 |
|
Common renovation and new build options |
|||
|
Frame |
Glass |
R-value |
U-value |
|
Aluminium |
Double Glazed |
0.28 |
3.55 |
|
Thermally Broken Aluminium |
Double Glazed |
0.33 |
3.07 |
|
Double Glazed, Low E & Argon |
0.52 |
1.92 |
|
|
Triple Glazed, Low E & Argon |
0.67 |
1.49 |
|
|
Frame |
Glass |
R-value |
U-value |
|
NK Windows Ideal 4000 PVC frames |
Double Glazed (including warm edge spacer) |
0.39 |
2.56 |
|
Double Glazed, Low E & Argon (including warm edge spacer) |
0.77 |
1.30 |
|
|
Triple Glazed, Low E & Argon (including warm edge spacers) |
1.04 |
0.96 |
|
R-value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. U-value measures are also widely used to explain thermal performance. U-values and R-values are quite simply the inverse of one another.
The higher R-value, the greater the thermal resistance.
More ...
NK Windows in the news: Stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/68213338/new-christchurch-home-amongst-greenest-in-nz
Understanding and Managing Condensation (3 pages, 642KB)
