Condensation and PVC Window Use
The phenomenon which is colloquially called humidity is the water in the form of vapor in the air. There is always some water vapor in the air of the environment we are living in. Relative humidity is the ratio of the amount of water vapor contained in the air to the maximum amount of water that the air can carry at that temperature. The maximum water content in the air in a 1 cubic meter area is 17.5 g. The humidity rate is deemed to be 57 percent if there is 10 g of water vapor in the air in such environment.
[(10/17,5)x100=57]
Water vapor in the air has a certain condensation temperature. The water vapor in the air becomes liquid if the surface temperature is lower than the condensation temperature when the air comes into contact with surfaces colder than the environment. This phenomenon is called condensation. The minimum values for the surface temperatures with no condensation occurrence depending on the humidity and ambient temperature are given in the table below.
| Temperature (oC) |
Humidity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | 35% | 40% | 45% | 50% | 55% | 60% | 65% | |
| 30 | 10,5 | 12,9 | 14,9 | 16,8 | 18,4 | 20 | 21,4 | 22,7 |
| 29 | 9,7 | 12 | 14 | 15,9 | 17,5 | 19 | 20,4 | 21,7 |
| 28 | 8,8 | 11,1 | 13,1 | 15 | 16,6 | 18,1 | 19,5 | 20,8 |
| 27 | 8 | 10,2 | 12,2 | 14,1 | 15,7 | 17,2 | 18,6 | 19,9 |
| 26 | 7,1 | 9,4 | 11,4 | 13,2 | 14,8 | 16,3 | 17,6 | 18,9 |
| 25 | 6,2 | 8,5 | 10,5 | 12,2 | 13,9 | 15,3 | 16,7 | 18 |
| 24 | 5,4 | 7,6 | 9,6 | 11,3 | 12,9 | 14,4 | 15,8 | 17 |
| 23 | 4,5 | 6,7 | 8,7 | 10,4 | 12 | 13,5 | 14,8 | 16,1 |
| 22 | 3,6 | 5,9 | 7,8 | 9,5 | 11,1 | 12,5 | 13,9 | 15,1 |
| 21 | 2,8 | 5 | 6,9 | 8,6 | 10,2 | 11,6 | 12,9 | 14,2 |
| 20 | 1,9 | 4,1 | 6 | 7,7 | 9,3 | 10,7 | 12 | 13,2 |
| 19 | 1 | 3,2 | 5,1 | 6,8 | 8,3 | 9,8 | 11,1 | 12,3 |
| 18 | 0,2 | 2,3 | 4,2 | 5,9 | 7,4 | 8,8 | 10,1 | 11,3 |
When we assume that the room temperature is 23 °C and the humidity is 45 percent in the table above, the temperature of a surface has to drop to 10.4 °C and below for condensation to occur on such surface. Therefore, increasing the interior surface temperatures with by the means of insulation is one of the most effective methods to prevent condensation. This can achieved by insulating the walls from the outside and using a glazing with low heat transfer coefficient.
Condensation can be prevented by the following methods;
- Ensuring increase of the internal surface temperatures of the building with insulation. (20–22 °C)
- The environment should be ventilated at least 3 times a day for 15 minutes each by opening the sash using the turn and tilt system in order to reduce the interior humidity.
- Preventing humidity to move to other rooms by keeping the doors of rooms where steam generating equipment (tumble dryer, bathroom, kitchen) are located closed.
- Avoiding use of heaters which generate vapor such as gas stoves and catalytic heaters.
MAINTENANCE OF WINDOWS
Fıratpen PVC window systems offer the advantage of the longest usage life with minimal maintenance requirement compared to its competitors. These systems can keep functioning fully for many years if certain simple rules are followed.
Some of these are as follows:
- Espagnolettes, which are the frequently operated mechanisms of the windows, can have a longer lifespan if they are lubricated every 6 months as they are made of metal and operated frequently .
- Profiles should be cleaned with warm water, use of detergents in powder form and abrasive materials such as scouring pads and sandpaper should be avoided to prevent abrasion of the surface.
- Use of chemicals such as thinner shall be avoided when cleaning the window surfaces since they can cause damage to the surface and impair the structure of the material.
- Protective films applied on profile surfaces are intended to protect the surface against impacts that may occur during transportation, shipping or installation. Protective films must be removed after installation. Removal of protective films from the profile can become difficult otherwise. Protective films has to be removed within 3 months after installation at the latest.
- Agents such as paint and mortar that can be smeared on the profile during construction shall be removed immediately and no hard objects and chemicals such as thinner shall be used for cleaning.
- The labels on the glazing installed in the window frames shall be damped using a piece of cloth soaked with hot water for easy removal instead of using hard objects.