- Classification
Aluminum alloy doors and windows are divided into traditional aluminum alloy doors and windows and thermal break aluminum doors and windows.
Traditional aluminum alloy doors and windows adopt an integrated structure with good thermal conductivity, which easily leads to cold indoor temperature in winter and hot in summer. Because aluminum alloy is a material with high thermal conductivity, making door and window frames with it will form a thermal bridge effect, resulting in indoor heat loss in winter and outdoor heat conduction indoors in summer. It not only affects the comfort of the room, but also increases air conditioning energy consumption.
Thermal break aluminum doors and windows are upgraded on the basis of traditional aluminum doors and windows. Adopting thermal break insulation technology, they interrupt the integrated structure of profiles, add non-metallic material—thermal insulation strips, divide the cavity into cold cavity and warm cavity, block heat transfer between metals, and reduce the thermal bridge effect, so as to keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer.
- Material
In aluminum alloy doors and windows, aluminum is mainly used for door and window frames, mullions and other parts. It is divided into primary aluminum and recycled aluminum. For long-term use and better performance, it is recommended to give priority to primary aluminum.
Primary aluminum is pure aluminum refined by electrolytic cell after obtaining bauxite from aluminum ore mining. It has a higher price but more guaranteed quality and more stable performance.
Recycled aluminum is made from waste aluminum products through recycling and reuse. It has a lower price but unstable quality, with relatively poor corrosion resistance and mechanical properties.
- Profile Thickness
Profile thickness refers to the wall thickness of aluminum alloy door and window profiles.
According to Chinese national standards, no matter what series of aluminum doors and windows:
- External door wall thickness: not less than 2.2mm
- Internal door wall thickness: not less than 2.0mm
- External window wall thickness: not less than 1.8mm
- Internal window wall thickness: not less than 1.4mm
It is safer and more reliable to purchase doors and windows in accordance with the recommended standards of the new national standard. Profile thickness is closely related to the physical performance and wind pressure resistance of doors and windows. Generally speaking, the thicker the profile, the higher the strength. Doors and windows with a wall thickness lower than 1.4mm have high safety risks and must not be selected!
- Glass
For sturdy and durable aluminum alloy doors and windows, it is recommended to give priority to tempered glass with 3C certification. This kind of glass has higher strength and hardness, good impact resistance, and its fragments are small honeycomb-like particles, which is safer.
On this basis, you can also upgrade to different types of composite glass according to needs, such as insulating glass, laminated glass, insulating laminated glass, insulating Low-E glass, etc. Glass thickness cannot be ignored either.
According to JGJ 113 Technical Code for Application of Architectural Glass:
Single piece glass thickness = glass area × 2. For example, a single piece of glass of 3㎡ should be 6mm thick. Common glass thicknesses include 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm.
If the glass area is large, you can use mullions to divide the area reasonably, which can reduce costs and improve stability.