Keep Your Windows,
Transform Your Comfort
What is Secondary Glazing?
Secondary glazing is converting your existing windows from single glazing to a form of double glazing. This is done by adding a second layer (generally clear acrylic and not glass) to your windows. The acrylic is held in place by magnetic moulding and a spacer to providing optimal still air space to make your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
What is ecoGlaze® Secondary Glazing?
ecoMaster‘s own secondary glazing system, ecoGlaze® offers all of the benefits of double glazing at about 1/3 of the cost of high-quality new double glazing. Best of all, your windows and doors continue to open as close as they did before. The elegant design blends perfectly with your existing window frames.
There are three models available cater for awning windows, double hung (sash) windows, sliding windows and doors and fixed (non-opening) windows.
ecoGlaze can be:
- Professionally Installed
- Installed as a DIY solution
ecoGlaze vs. Double Glazing…
- ecoGlaze is more cost effective than replacement double glazing in terms of both materials and installation costs, while achieving the same level of efficiency. About 1/3 of the cost.
- ecoGlaze is far less invasive than having your existing windows replaced which would require the architraves and walls to be ‘made good’, replastered and repainted. No mess.
- ecoGlaze is more resource efficient, allowing all of the benefits of double glazing without the need to dispose of your existing windows. No landfill.
- ecoGlaze is non-intrusive, allowing timber sliding and awning windows to continue to operate as normal. The appearance, character and function of the window or door is not compromised.
A Beautiful System that Converts Existing
Windows into Double Glazing
Secondary glazing, or retrofit double glazing, is a brilliant option for people who want to upgrade to double glazing without replacing their perfectly good windows. ecoGlaze is a revolutionary secondary glazing system that can be easily applied to your existing windows. The good news is they’ll still open and close as they did before.
Did you know that glass is an conductor of heat?
In summer, an unshaded window will allow heat from outside to transfer into your home, compromising your comfort as you try to keep cool.
In the winter, your expensive heating is being lost to the outside, while your heater is working overtime and creating unnecessarily high energy bills.
How does secondary glazing work?
A optically clear acrylic panel is fitted to the window sash, held in place by a timber or aluminium moulding and a spacer. These mouldings are fitted with magnets which lock the acrylic layer firmly in place.
Mouldings can be painted in a standard or custom colour, or can be stained and varnished to match your existing frames. The entire system can be easily removed, though this is rarely necessary as dust cannot enter between the acrylic and the glazing.
“The ecoMaster team is highly professional and unusually efficient, and their product has made a tangible difference to the comfort of our house. We are very happy to recommend them to others.”
Pavla M, North Fitzroy
The benefits of secondary glazing…
- Secondary glazing adds real value to your home
- ecoGlaze® has been tested by the WERS Testing Laboratory (Windows Energy Rating Scheme)
- Looks and functions like factory fitted double glazing, visually integrating with your window rather than looking like an add-on
- Glass-like acrylic panels are virtually unbreakable and come with a 30 year warranty
- High-quality solution that lasts the lifetime of your home
- Does not inhibit the operation of your doors and windows
- Amazingly affordable at about 1/3 of the cost of high-quality double glazing
- Reduces your heating and cooling energy consumption
- Improves the comfort of your home
- An environmentally sustainable solution, reducing landfill
- Your ecoGlaze product and its installation are guaranteed for 7 years.
How do I get started?
With ecoGlaze® choose between:
- Professional installation of ecoGlaze
- Or consider DIY
Professional Installation of ecoGlaze® is currently available in Victoria.
If you wish to register your interest from other states, please complete the Contact Us form and we will be in touch when it is ready.
If you want to read more about ecoGlaze click here.
Do you want Secondary Glazing
for ⅓ of the price of replacement double glazing?
Without any of the mess, replastering and repainting?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Click to expand):
What does ecoGlaze® cost?
A reasonable indication is around $450 per square metre, depending upon the type and size of your windows, and your location. However, some types of glazing, such as double hung windows, and clerestory windows will cost more. There is a DIY option which may be more affordable.
How does it work?
ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing works by trapping a layer of still-air between your existing windows and the ecoGlaze® acrylic panel. This layer of air greatly reduces the heat and cold transfer through your glass window. The acrylic panel is secured in place by beautifully made timber or aluminium mouldings held firmly to the window frame with invisible magnets.
Is ecoGlaze® available for both timber and aluminium frames?
Generally speaking, the ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System can be easily applied to all timber windows and some aluminium windows. This is dependent on the window frame having enough room for the ecoGlaze® system and sufficient insulating air pocket. Some residential aluminium-framed windows do not allow enough space for the ecoGlaze® system to fit. However, many homes (particularly apartments) are fitted with commercial aluminium window frames, which are often the perfect size.
Refer to our specialist ecoGlaze website to check whether your windows are suitable for ecoGlaze®.
Is ecoGlaze® suitable for glazing in doors too?
ecoGlaze® is a suitable treatment for timber framed glazing, doors included. It can be applied to French doors; sliding doors; hinged doors; doors with colonial bars; or doors with lead lighting.
Will I have to remove ecoGlaze® to open my windows and doors?
No, the ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System does not alter the operation of your windows or doors. You will be able to open them normally.
What size windows is ecoGlaze® appropriate for?
The largest ecoGlaze® panel that can be safely installed is 3000mm x 2000mm.
Will it make my windows look ugly?
No. One of the greatest benefits of ecoGlaze is that it blends seamlessly with your existing windows. This also makes ecoGlaze perfect for Heritage listed buildings seeking a greater level of energy efficiency.
Will ecoGlaze® match my windows?
This is one of the most impressive features of ecoGlaze®.
The ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System is supplied in either raw timber (Tasmanian Oak) or painted in Dulux Natural White. The raw timber mouldings are ready to be stained and finished to match your existing window frames. You may choose to do this yourself or choose from ecoMaster’s 16 available stains and we can stain them for you. Custom paint colours can also be arranged for an additional fee.
Will ecoGlaze® eliminate noise?
ecoGlaze® is primarily a thermal product, that means it is designed to improve the comfort of your home in summer and winter. All forms of secondary glazing will reduce street noise to some extent, however, while it provides some acoustic benefit, its major focus is to vastly improve the thermal performance of the glazing in a way that is aesthetically beautiful.
Neither ecoGlaze® nor any other form of retrofit double glazing will totally eliminate external noise from your home and should not be viewed as a complete sound-proofing solution. Sound travels around building elements and so it can travel around an acoustically effective window or door.
Any noise abatement should be undertaken in a holistic manner and would usually include thorough draught proofing as well as treatments to the walls, floors and ceilings. Often in apartments the glazing is the major source of noise infiltration and, therefore ecoGlaze® would provide significant acoustic benefit.
How do I get someone to come and quote?
Go to ecoGlaze.com.au to learn more about a professional installation or a DIY installation.
My home is freezing cold in winter, will ecoGlaze® help with that?
Yes, it certainly will. ecoGlaze® will reduce the heat loss by more than 50%, making a huge difference to the comfort of your home. This will significantly save you on your winter heating bill because you will need to use your heater much less.
I have problems with heat in summer, will ecoGlaze® help with that?
Even traditional double glazing solutions cannot solve the problem of direct summer sun striking the glass.
Providing there is no direct sunlight striking your windows, the ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System is highly effective in making sure that the summer heat stays outside. ecoGlaze® will reduce the heat transfer by up to 50%. However, if there is direct summer sun striking the glass, then external shading is the appropriate solution.
How does ecoGlaze® compare to brand new double glazed windows?
Brand new double glazed windows are much more expensive than secondary glazing. There is also a considerable amount of effort involved in selecting, arranging, installing, plaster repair, painting and cleaning up afterward.
With replacement windows, the old heavy windows also need to be removed and properly disposed of. Tradesmen need to install the new windows carefully and the architraves and plaster around each window replaced or repaired. Finally, the painters will need to repaint walls and/or architraves to match your existing paintwork. It can be challenging to co-ordinate multiple tradespeople in a timely manner when trying to get your home back to normal.
Also, we often we hear that people are disappointed to find that their brand new double glazing does not allow the adequate still air space to deliver the comfort they paid for.
No structural changes are required to install ecoGlaze. Your home is left clean and tidy with seamless secondary glazing that provides perfect still air space.
Read more about this topic here.
How does ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System compare to replacing the glass with a double glazed unit or insulated glazing unit (IGU)?
There are a number of glazing companies that provide this service. Please be mindful that your original window frames were designed for a single pane of glass and are weighted to allow them to open and close normally. So there are two issues with replacing the glass:
- Adding an IGU to single glazed windows will make them very heavy. The additional weight is often too heavy to allow the windows to self-support in an open position. Doors that have been treated this way often experience strain on the hinges or tracks which can cause problems in the future.
- The smaller the gap between layers of glass, the less effective it will be. Because your original frames were designed for a single pane of glass, they were not constructed to accept wider glazing units. This forces the replacement glazing (IGU) to be very narrow, fitting two layers of glass into a space that was designed for one layer. This compromises its thermal effectiveness as the gap will allow conduction of heat and cold, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.
ecoGlaze® has none of these problems because it weighs much less than glass, allows your windows to open and close normally. Its design provides the best possible still-air space to maximise thermal performance.
Is the ecoGlaze® unit sealed?
It is not necessary for the ecoGlaze® system to be sealed. ecoGlaze® creates a still-air space between the existing glass and the added acrylic panel. It is the still-air space that provides the insulative effect in ecoGlaze® and all other forms of secondary or double glazing.
Is the ecoGlaze® unit filled with argon gas?
ecoGlaze® does not contain Argon or any other chemical element. Argon filled double glazing is one of the most expensive types of double glazing available. It is important to note that Argon provides virtually no additional benefit unless it is combined with a ‘low e coating’, which requires the glass to be replaced.
Is the ecoGlaze® unit vacuum sealed?
Believe it or not, no glazing is vacuum sealed because it would put the two panes of glass under pressure and eventually the two panes would touch. Factory fitted double glazing is hermetically sealed, meaning that no air can enter or escape.
Why use acrylic instead of glass?
There are a number of reasons why the ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System has been designed using an acrylic panel instead of glass:
- Due to its flexibility acrylic is very difficult to break which makes it extremely safe. By comparison, glass is brittle, rigid and will shatter on impact.
- Acrylic is far less conductive than glass, which means that it will retain your winter warmth and protect you from summer heat transfer. In fact, acrylic conducts five times less than glass.
- Acrylic is light weight and easy to handle it can be safely added to your existing windows. As glass is a rigid, dangerous product, there are stringent safety requirements. It is not economically viable to be compliant with the Australian Glazing Standard if glass is used for this purpose.
WERS Rating (Window Energy Rating Scheme)
The level of conduction of heat is measured by a number called a U-value. The U-value is measured by 1/R where R is the rate of heat resistance. The lower the U-Value, the better the performance of the glazing.
The U-value of a 3mm single glazed window with aluminium frame is 6.9. Compare this to a double glazed unit, with 6mm spacing and aluminium frames, with a U-value of 3.8. ecoGlaze® will be able to take a wooden framed single glazed window with a U-value of 5.5 down to a secondary glazed unit with a U-value of 3.0.
What does Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient (SHGC) mean?
Does ecoGlaze® come with a warranty?
Will condensation effect ecoGlaze®?
Secondary glazing (retrofit double glazing) works the same way as factory made double glazing by providing a layer of still air that improves the insulation value of otherwise highly conductive glass. In factory made units you have the opportunity to select many glass treatment options and also a gas fill. These units are hermetically sealed and have desiccant in them to absorb any water vapour that may impregnate the seals.
The ecoGlaze® Retrofit Double Glazing System is not sealed and does not include a desiccant. It relies on the water vapour in the air not being so high as to create condensation in the air space. This means that of all of the Melbourne-based installations we have carried out, there have been no reports of a moisture problem.
There have been two homes at altitude (above 500 metres), that have a minor problem with misting. The misting is insufficient to condense and it dissipates during the day.
Will my windows comply with the standard 'AS1288'?
The “Glazing in Buildings” Standard AS1288 concerns itself with two things: Wind Loading and Human Impact Safety.
- Wind Loading: Will the windows hold up against the winds expected in the setting in which they are being installed?One aspect of this is the thickness of the glass versus the area of the glass. The bigger the area the thicker the glass required. The higher the wind rating of the area the thicker the glass required.
- Human Impact Safety: If a person impacts the glass with speed or force, will it break and damage the windows or themselves?Again, this goes towards the thickness of the glass, particularly of low-to-the-ground glazing and in the case of wet areas, it is about using Grade A safety glass.The glazing standard has been significantly improved over the last few years, so many homes may not have compliant glazing. Adding ecoGlaze® will enhance the safety of your windows because the acrylic panel that is added internally is almost unbreakable. It won’t break due to impact from inside your home.