What Is Thermal Performance, and How Does It Affect My House?

What Is Thermal Performance, and How Does It Affect My House?

Thermal performance, simply put, is a factor that is concerned with how well your home retains heat. This can be the defining factor between in a freezing cold home in the winter or a warm and cosy one. Old home for example are usually colder than new more thermally efficient homes.

Thermal performance is measured via a unit called a U-value, which is used to categorise the insulation properties of a material on an numberic scale.

To help put things into perspective, here are some common U-values for various building materials:

• Double glazed window has a U-value of 2.8 W/m²
• Solid brick wall has a U-value of 2.0 W/m²
• Cavity wall has a U-value of 1.6 W/m²

Getting a good degree of thermal performance can affect your home in a number of ways, not all of them completely obvious on first thought. Outside of keeping you warm and comfortable during the bitter months, thermal performance can also hold economic and environmental benefits.

Many homeowners will know that their heating costs can become a substantial expense when winter rolls around, especially if their property is poor at preventing the warmth from escaping to the surrounding areas. However, with high thermal performance, you could find yourself lowering your heating bills as you lean less on your central heating to keep warm.

In turn, this could also enable you to reduce the carbon footprint of your home. By using your heating less, you will use less energy across the year. Carbon emissions have become more and more prominent over the years, showing themselves to be a contributing factor to global warming. With this in mind, thermal performance is a very important factor to both the environmentally minded and financially prudent.

So, how can you increase the thermal performance of your home? A good place to start is the roof on your conservatory or single story extension. A thermally efficient roof is a recommended by architects and builders as a way to increase the overall heat retention of your home, and we have a range that will be the perfect fit for your home.

Whether you’re looking for a glass or solid replacement roof, you’ll be able to find exactly what you’re after with the Ultraframe range. Choose from our Classic roof, Ultraroof or Livinroof to bring a standard of thermal efficiency to your home that has been designed to suit the modern age.

You can also opt for our super insulated columns, which feature a contemporary design that is five times more thermally efficient than traditional brick piers. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy a more comfortable living area in a modern and stylish way. There is no reason to be out in the cold when you choose Ultraframe.

Find Your Nearest Approved Ultra Installer

Got some questions about thermal efficiency? Wondering if we’ll have the right product for you? Use our quick and simple tool to find your nearest approved Ultra Installer; they will be on hand to help you secure a warmer home.