The building sector is probably the most important financial sector in Europe, presenting an annual financial turnover which surpasses 400 billion Euros. At the same time, on a daily basis, the global primary energy consumption connected to buildings exceeds 17 million oil barrels, quantity almost equal to the total production of the OPEC countries.
 

In the European Union countries, the building sector absorbs, in average, 40% of the total energy consumption. The percentage per country ranges from 20% for Portugal, up to 45% for Ireland, while in Greece it is around 35%.

Energy consumption by the building sector also has an environmental dimension, because it causes about 50% of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) which is responsible for the greenhouse effect, with the consequent climate changes.

Given that the urban area resident spends 80% of his life inside buildings, the effect of the interior climateon his health, comfort and productivity are evident. 

To understand how important it is to live in a thermal insulated house, we should notice what happens in a house without thermal insulation: heat (or cold, depending on the season) from the interior escapes the house, charging the environment and at the same time the external temperature enters the house, affecting the desirable interior climate.

Imagine such a house in winter: As its interior is heated by radiators, fireplaces etc., the heat escapes the building, due to inefficient frames. In the summer, the same thing happens with air-conditioning: because the cool air escapes, we don’t feel as cool as we’d like, resulting in more air-conditioning units, wasting more energy and money – cooling is much more expensive than heating.

Thus, in order to correct any altering of the desirable interior temperature, we consume energy through electric appliances or other heating sources.

Frames play a major role in the amount of energy we consume daily so as to ensure the desirable living conditions inside buildings, at least as far as interior temperature is concerned.

Doors and windows are largely responsible for heat loss from interior spaces during the winter period, while during the summer for heat entering from the environment outside.

Consequently, a way to save significant amounts of energy and simultaneously energy upgrading houses is replacing the frames with new thermal and sound insulating ones.

Apart from the energy savings, which also means reducing the corresponding expenses for heating and cooling, replacing the old frames with new modern ones also offers sound reduction from the exterior to the interior. Moreover, we should not disregard the added protection from possible burglary and of course the comfort and functionality which are equally important factors for the modern man.

The energy behaviorand efficiency of frames is affected by two important factors:

1. The construction material heat permeability. Heat permeability is measured by the Uw coefficient. The smaller this coefficient is, the more energy efficient the frame is, which means energy and cost savings.
2.  The frame air permeability. Air permeability informs us about how tight our frame is to air. There are 4 classes (1-4), with class 4 representing the most air-tight frame.

Two more factors are the glass pane’s light permeability and its solar coefficient. You can find more information in the article about energy glass panes.

To sum up, the benefits from replacing frames with new thermal block aluminum systems are the following:
·         Energy savings
·         Air-conditioning expenses reduction
·         Thermal loss reduction, thus heating expenses reduction during the winter as well
·         Durability in extreme weather conditions
·         Reduction of water vapor condensation in the interior surface of the profiles
·         Protection from metal condensation
·         Low air permeability
·         Sound insulation

Of course we must not forget the most important thing, which is the construction and installation quality. All the benefits mentioned could be nullified if the aluminum frame construction and installation is not done by the proper constructor (e.g. frames with improper joint sealing, incorrect adjustment of the securing mechanisms, low quality and improper installation of rubber gasketsetc.). For this reason, market research must be done and we should collaborate with reliable and certified constructors so as to ensure our investment’s amortization.