Conservatory Glass Explained By CosyRoof

When considering adding a conservatory to your house, the trickiest questions you had to ask yourself were ‘How much can we afford?’ ‘What conservatory shape will we go for?’ and ‘Where will we build it?’. But just when you think you’ve considered everything, the builders come in and baffle you with questions about glass types and glazing for your conservatory windows.

We know that can be confusing so as conservatory climate control specialists, let us break down the conservatory jargon for you!

U Values: this refers to the measurement of heat transfer through a material (the lower the U Value, the better the insulation)

WER: this means Window Energy Ratings which is why you may see or hear of A, B or C rated windows

Polycarbonate: this is a lightweight, multi-wall sheet used for insulation purposes

Solar Factors: this is the amount of solar energy that is able to radiate through a specific type of glass

Low E Glass: this stands for low emissivity glass which means it has better thermal performance and keeps heat in

Toughened Glass: this type of glass is up to 5 times stronger than normal glass and is often referred to as safety glass

Light Transmittance Value: this is the level of light that can be transmitted through a particular type of glass

Warm Edge Spacer: this reduces heat loss around the perimeter of the glass unit

N.B – The type of conservatory glass you choose may have implications on the type of activity you plan to undertake in your conservatory. For example, the type of glass used in the windows of your conservatory would be very different if you plan to use the conservatory as a greenhouse as opposed to a cosy room where the kids can play on a wet day.