External Condensation Over The Pond

I was reading an interesting article from www.pressroom.pella.com about condensation. I was reading to see what reasons they gave and how to go about reducing it. Then this section came up about external condensation:


Exterior condensation on windows occurs primarily in the morning when days are warm and humid, but nights are cool. Typically, it clears as the day warms. Exterior condensation can occur at any time, especially in warm, humid climates where interior temperatures are cooler than outdoor conditions. Exterior condensation means that windows are doing their job properly. However, if you spot excessive condensation on the inside of your windows, check your inside humidity – it may be a signal of potential problems if not addressed.


The bit I've underlined is the bit which I tell our customers exactly to the word how they've described it. Is exterior condensation a bigger problem in the US than here? Maybe so if www.pressroom.pella.com have felt the need to explain it. 


Now that we are selling much more thermally efficient windows, we are going to need to explain to future customers that this scenario could happen from time to time. The good thing is that it only last a couple of hours, and is physical proof that the windows are doing their job...and we haven't been just typical double glazing salesmen and just lied through our teeth!


The full article can be found here: http://pressroom.pella.com/fast_facts/87/ 

It's That Time Of Year Again!

For those who have been installing energy rated windows for the last couple of years, you will be all too aware of what this post is all about. Condensation.


When we started selling energy rated windows, one of the selling points was the fact that you could cut out a lot of the condensation on the inside of the windows. 'Great', we all thought, then 'bugger', soon afterwards. Providing the weather conditions are right, and the property is situated in the right place, energy rated windows actually condense on the outer pane. So as your customers wake up to a nice crisp winter morning, they can't see a thing!


Problem is there isn't much we can do about it. We now have to fit them by law, so there is no way to get round that. It also becomes increasingly harder to say to the customer that these reduce condensation, when 4-6 months of the year they might be steamed up on the outside! So what do we do?


We can either risk telling the customer upon demonstration of the windows, risking the cowboy competition saying that theirs don't and allowing them to get one up on you. Or, fit the windows, knowing that weather conditions won't always be conducive and it won't always happen (providing it's not a long cold winter like the last one!).


One thing to say to any customers that might ring up and complain is that it is proof the windows are doing their job, keeping your heat in, and the cold out. It's a funny problem, and one which I don't think anyone could even see coming.

How Big Is The Condensation Problem Going To Be?

We had another couple of customers contact us today regarding condensation on their new windows. Luckily, after explaining the physics of the problem they understood and the matter went no further. But as we all know, customers in this industry can sometimes be a royal pain in the backside over things like this.

Is this going to be a permanent trouble causer for the future? All we have been selling over the past year and before is 'A' rated windows. I can see in the future a larger proportion of these customers coming back to us to report the same problem. The second problem is going to occur when this feature of energy rated windows becomes openly known to the public, which it will! Is it going to put some potential customers off? The task of selling energy saving windows could be a tad harder from that point onwards.