Seeing the sun shining is often enough to put everyone in a good mood. There’s no question that those golden rays instantly brighten up the day. However, if you’re indoors, sunlight streaming in through your windows can at times be a slightly less welcome sight.
Whether at home or at work in your commercial premises, feeling the sun’s powerful rays radiating through the windows may be a concern. You may wonder whether you can suffer sunburn through the window. Or, whether the rays can cause damage to items inside your home or business. Crucially, you may want to know how you can protect your property by reducing the UV rays that enter it. Fortunately, secondary glazing can help with this by actively reducing UV rays.
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What are UV Rays?
Before we dive into explaining how secondary glazing can help reduce sun rays entering through windows, and why it’s important to do so, we’ll first explore what UV rays are.
Ultraviolet radiation is the term used to describe rays that come directly from the sun and hit the Earth. These rays aren’t visible to the human eye. But interestingly, some mammals, insects, and birds are able to see UV rays.
UV rays are categorised as UVA, UVB, and UVC. Rays of UVC are of least concern. This is because these rays are mostly absorbed by the ozone layer before they even come anywhere close to your property’s windows. The majority, around 90%, of UVB rays are also absorbed by the ozone layer as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. UVA rays and a portion of UVB rays account for most of the rays that reach Earth.
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation can significantly impact mammals and plants. The role of UV rays in the development of skin cancer is an example of this.
Why is it Useful to Reduce UV Rays Entering Through Windows?
While we may not be able to see UV rays, the damage they can cause is certainly visible. Each day, you likely take action to reduce your exposure to the sun’s rays. This could be by applying sunscreen before you step outside, popping on a hat to reduce your skin’s exposure to the sun, or shielding your eyes from the rays with sunglasses, or pulling down the visor to reduce glare when driving. What you may not have considered is how you can protect yourself and your belongings from the rays when you are indoors.
Here are some of the reasons why it is useful to reduce UV rays streaming in through your windows:
Protect Furnishings
Most people take great care to decorate and furnish their homes to their exact tastes. Carefully choosing your home or office’s décor makes them far more pleasant places to spend time. After going to the effort of making your space look perfect, the last thing you want is for it to become damaged.
Unfortunately, the sun’s powerful rays can enter through your windows and gradually damage your furnishings. Fabrics such as curtains and blinds can lose their vibrancy due to sun bleaching. While upholstered furniture, such as armchairs and sofas, can start to look patchy and discoloured where some areas have faded after being exposed to the sunlight. Replacing these items can be an expensive task. So, the best way to keep your décor looking newer for longer is to keep the UV rays out.
Preserve Important Items
Protecting your furnishings from being bleached by the sun’s rays is an important task if you want them to stay looking at their absolute best. However, the benefits of secondary glazing to reduce UV rays reaches beyond our homes and businesses. The reduction of UV rays afforded by secondary glazing is also a crucial way to protect historically important items.
Items of significance, such as ancient books, tapestries, artwork, and artefacts, can all deteriorate when they are exposed to the sun’s harmful rays. Fragile paper and fabric are especially susceptible to sun damage. The sun’s rays can cause colours to fade and details to be bleached by the light. This can cause one-of-a-kind exhibits and artefacts to be damaged beyond repair.
Due to the potential damage that can be caused by UV rays to irreplaceable, rare, and historically important items, it’s little wonder that the guardians of these items seek ways to protect them from damage. Buildings such as libraries, museums, galleries, and stately homes can all help protect their precious contents by reducing the UV rays that enter their premises.
In buildings such as those mentioned above, secondary glazing is especially beneficial. Historic England notes the benefits that secondary glazing can provide protection from UV rays to the contents of historic buildings.
It is particularly important for historic buildings to protect their contents from damage from UV light. However, protection from the sun’s rays needs to be provided without interfering with the integrity and aesthetic of the existing building. The installation of a secondary glazing unit which features laminated glass is an ideal solution to sympathetically provide protection from the sun to the contents of the building.
Climate Change
The need to protect ourselves from UV rays has become increasingly essential due to climate change. Human damage to the ozone layer caused by pollution means that the amount of UVA and UVB rays that can reach the Earth’s surface is increasing. Ultimately, this means that more UV rays can penetrate through windows and into your home or workplace. More UV rays means more potential damage to furnishings, paintings, documents, etc, which can all be left sun-bleached and with uneven colour.
As the impact of climate change becomes more apparent with the passing years, it makes sense to plan ahead and to put UV protection measures in place in preparation.
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How Does Secondary Glazing Reduce UV Rays?
Secondary glazing can be a highly effective way to reduce UV rays entering your home through your windows. But how does secondary glazing achieve this? Well, secondary glazing can reduce the UV rays in your home as it absorbs many of them before they can enter through your window.
Most windows produced after 2003 will help to reduce the amount of UV light that enters your home to some degree. However, secondary glazing can offer further reductions. This is firstly because as it’s name suggests, secondary glazing provides an additional layer of glass, meaning UV rays have even further to travel to reach the interior of your home or office. This means there are two layers of glass for the rays to penetrate.
For further reduction of the sun’s rays, you can choose secondary glazing which features laminate or 6.4 mm thickness acoustic laminate. The laminate absorbs much of the UV radiation as it hits the surface of the glass, helping to protect your home or office interior from the costly and frustrating impact of fading and sun damage.
Which Secondary Glazing Should You Choose?
Secondary glazing can be hugely beneficial to properties of all ages and styles. However, to enjoy all the potential benefits, including UV reduction, it’s essential to choose the best secondary glazing.
When choosing secondary glazing, it’s vital to consider the needs of your building. Listed buildings and period homes often require a more sympathetic approach to their glazing. This helps ensure the original character of the building isn’t disrupted while providing all the benefits of an additional layer of glazing.
At City Sound Glazing, we offer an excellent selection of secondary glazing designed to match the needs of different building aesthetics and practicalities. Some of our most popular secondary glazing styles include:
- Vertical sliding sash windows
- Horizontal sliding windows
- Fixed lift-out windows
- Casement hinged secondary glazing
We will be more than happy to discuss which type of secondary glazing would best suit your home, while also reducing the UV rays that enter through your windows.
Further Benefits of Secondary Glazing in Summer
Secondary glazing can certainly provide a highly effective way to reduce the UV rays that enter your home throughout the year. This is especially beneficial during the summer months when the sun is at its strongest. However, secondary glazing can provide many more advantages over the summer months. These include:
- Increased protection from outside noise, which is extremely helpful when you’re trying to sleep on a hot summer’s night.
- Improved comfort in your home, as the secondary glazing will provide thermal protection, which helps to keep your home or office feeling cooler.
- Reduced glare can cause discomfort to your eyes and obscure your screen when you are trying to watch television or use a computer. Secondary glazing can help minimise glare.
If you’re ready to protect your home décor from sun damage and increase the comfort in your home with secondary glazing, we can help. Contact us today and we’ll be delighted to help you find the perfect secondary glazing solution for your property.