Is double glazing really all that everyone thinks when it comes to ensuring that your home is protected from the elements? Also does it really work at keeping all the heat in your home?

We keep on hearing the term carbon neutral in the press and media but what is it that this term actually means? And how do we go about to become carbon neutral?

The term ‘carbon neutral’ has really replaced the term carbon offset. It actually means to balance the overall amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere, by calculating how much carbon dioxide is being emitted from an activity and reducing the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide in another activity. Therefore, by installing double glazing into your home you are preventing carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere which is off setting the carbon dioxide that you are using in order to heat your home in the first place.

The windows in your home have a major impact on the energy efficiency of the house. Poorly designed windows make your home too hot or too cold. If designed correctly, they’ll help maintain year-round comfort, reducing or eliminating the need for artificial heating and cooling.

Windows in a typical insulated home account for more heat gain or loss than any other element in the house. In summer heat gain through an un-shaded window can be 100 times greater than through the same area of insulated wall. One square meter of ordinary glass can let in as much heat as would be produced by a single bar radiator. In winter, heat lost through a window can be ten times more than through the same area of insulated wall. Ordinary single glazed windows offer little resistance to heat flow. Double glazed windows provide additional thermal resistance due the sealed space in between the two panes of glass. This makes the windows conduct less heat and therefore they keep more of the heat in the building rather than letting it seep out into the outside world.

Being carbon neutral is not a fashion thing it is something that everyone is going to have to accept if we are to keep the planet alive. Before the industrial revolution carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were consistently between 260 and 280 parts per million [ppm]. Since the industrial revolution human society has become increasingly dependent on fossil fuels and as a result human activities have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to more than 380ppm.

As our homes are responsible for a large proportion of the UK's overall carbon dioxide emissions - having a direct impact on the acceleration of climate change - it is important to consider green and environmentally friendly features when look at improving your home.