If you are planning a new home or renovation, you have probably spent hours pouring over floor plans – what layout best suits the site, what meets the council requirements, space for the kitchen, the TV, the car... But how much consideration have you given to the space for YOU - what will your new home feel like to live in? In short, have you thought about your living space.
By reading this guide, you have already taken the first step to take-back control of this important aspect of your home design – choices which will affect your enjoyment of your new home, its appeal to others, and the resulting impact on its resale or rental value should the time come to move on.
Glass Type
The first thing you need to know when choosing glass is that there is a choice. Glass comes in various forms that perform differently, and this difference in performance has a bigger impact on your home than you might think.
As human beings we are all innately attracted to natural light – we are just physiologically wired that way. Even a brief flick through a home lifestyle or real estate magazine will reinforce this – the images we find most appealing and aspirational are those with abundant natural light. And this is true in real-life as well.
The amount of natural light we have access to in our home is a direct function of window area.
So if we like light so much why don’t we build homes with lots of windows? Because windows leak heat – in and out of your home – far more than the equivalent area of wall. An energy-leaky home is expensive to run, less comfortable to live in, and may fail to meet the minimum threshold laid out in the energy efficiency regulations of the National Construction Code. So in designing a home to meet the minimum energy efficiency requirements of the Code, you have a choice – reduce the number and size of your ordinary windows, or have a greater area of better windows.
To the bottom we see the dramatic difference in glazed areas possible to achieve the same energy efficiency standard, just by the form of glass you choose: ordinary, SmartGlassTM, or LightBridgeTM.
Window size and placement is fundamental to the design of the home, and will probably be less effectively achieved and certainly be far more expensive to change after the home is built. So windows are a decision to make early in the planning process.
Choosing the right glass in 3 easy steps
Step 1 - Glass Type
What level of performance do you need?
Choose from three glass performance levels giving you better energy efficiency and bigger window areas for more natural light. Look at the examples to the right - see the dramatic difference in glazed areas possible, without impacting the energy efficiency performance of your home, merely through the form of glass you choose.
Step 2 - Sanctuary
Upgrade your glass to create a home which is secure, safe and peaceful.
The right choice of glass can make your home your sanctuary. Select the right “Sanctuary” upgrade for the rooms in your home to keep out noise, intruders, and damaging UV light.
Step 3 - Tone and Privacy
Select the glass appearance to suit the environment and style of your home.
Not just about aesthetics, the tone and transparency of your glass impacts the amount of heat entering your home, controls glare, and creates spaces open to natural light not prying eyes.