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Why UPVC and Why Kommerling?
At Climateframe Double Glazing we are proudly an local West Australian manufacturer based in Wangara Perth. However to make the very best Double Glazed windows we source our “profile” (frame material) from a company called Kommerling. Established in 1897 by Karl Kömmerling® the company started producing uPVC (PolyVinylChloride unplasticised) in 1952 and started extruding window and door frames in 1967. KÖMMERLING® presents an extensive range of window and door profiles that are a clear cut above the competition. The KÖMMERLING brand attaches great importance to quality. It means not only the harmonised unity of the product range, but also the supervision of all product stages, whether research and development, production, design purpose, or ecological recyclability. For many years KÖMMERLING® has played a pioneering role in various sustainability related issues – such as recycling, the Zero Pellet Loss programme as part of the effort to keep the oceans clean and the use of energy saving equipment and energy from regenerative sources for production. Our modern, highly insulated window systems also make an important contribution to the achievement of climate targets and CO2 reduction. The uPVC extrusions division is marketed Worldwide as Kömmerling® C70 Window Profile. The base frame, like all frame parts is a complex extrusion in unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC) with 7 chambers acting as thermal breaks to minimise transfer of heat, in or out. In the large centre chamber, Australian galvanised steel is fitted on all sides, as an ‘anchor’ for all hinges, locks and handles. The window frame is designed to slide on the base where required, open out for casement and awning windows and open in for the Tilt & Turn windows. It, too, features Australia galvanised steel inside the centre of all sides. With the same / similar base frame, our slider, stacker, hinged and ‘Slide & Turn’ doors have a larger frame for greater ability to handle the large glass units, and to provide smooth and trouble free, life long service. Our hinged doors, single or French double have 4 hinges per door, and all doors have multipoint locking mechanisms operated by the single handle. Our Premi76 door (the Ultimate Sliding Door) uses its own unique frames as it can be manufactured up to 2500mm high and 6000mm wide.
So now that we have discussed why Kommerling, lets get onto the root discussion. Why UPVC as opposed to timber or aluminium? Let’s start with the material itself, aluminium and timber are both conductors of both noise and heat. In fact, combined with a timber cladded double storey build some aluminium frames in a West Australian summer are red hot to the touch. Directly contributing to heating up the room. Likewise, they will also transfer the heat from a heated room to a cold outside in winter, directly contributing to a colder room in winter. Why is this? The material itself is a conductor and will in fact take away some of the performance of your double glazing. So why would you after spending all that money on double glazing pair it with a frame that doesn’t assist the double glazing with its job of insulation and noise reduction? The rest of the world agrees, UPVC is the leading material of choice across the rest of the world including but not limited to North America, Canada, Europe, The United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The reason why, is because the UPVC frame has been engineered to directly contribute and enhance the double glazing’s performance both acoustically and thermally. Now if it is aesthetics, you are after I can’t disagree a thinner aluminium double glazed frame does look nice and really makes the glass pop. However using a Climateframe Double Glazing design expert you too can create amazing finishes that can either be a focal point of the elevation or just complement the other features nicely depending on your tastes and requirements. Don’t believe us? Check out some finished projects in our gallery or our google business listing. OR feel free to get in touch to discuss UPVC frames and how they look.
