Shortsy

Hello, we are considering replacing some 1998 double glazing first and second bedroom windows (approx 1sq.m each), probably 4 to start with, as these face south west and retain a lot of heat in the summer, plus they aren't too great in winter (U values about 2.9), aren't suitable for fire escape, hard to clean and noise outside is transmitted quite easily. Ideally I would like a solution that deals with summer and winter, fire escape, noise and air quality and can fit with no disruption to decorations, but I'm concerned about the cost of the best windows, plus extra decorating costs from fitting windows that would be wider than our current ones. I have seen windows that have triple glazing, integrated blinds, heat exchange air supply and inward opening all built in, but suspect I could looking at 3K per window to supply and fit these, and might have to do electrics to operate? Alternatively I like the external venetian blinds and separate through the wall air recovery systems, but doing them all separately could be even more expensive and hard to coordinate. I've also considered the cheapest method of external solar film and secondary glazing, but there don't seem to be many good glazing options, plus I'd lose useful solar gains outside the summer and it might feel like too much of a compromise. Interested to know if anyone else has solved this sort of problem for sensible cost and which company offers the most practical and hassle free solution (eg Rationel, IdealCombi, Gaulhofer etc Al - quite keen on the European styles).