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General: Condensation on the inner face of Double Glazing windows

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthormugendo
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2008
     
    I live in a standard brick construction house circa 1995.The house is well insulated with oil heating and double glazed windows.
    During the cold winter months, heavy considation builds up on the inner face of all windows on the ground & first floor.
    I have tried to resolve the problem by keping the heat on for along as possible, 10 hour periods evenings and 2 hours in the morning.
    I would welcome comments.
    • CommentAuthorskywalker
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2008
     
    Even the best double glazing will get condensation on it if there is is enough moisture in the air.

    How well ventilated is your house - could be the trickle vents on your windows are not enough. Try an experiment, open a window just a crack in each room & see if the condensation gets better.

    If this works you may need to look at ventilation - Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation is very good at curing condensation problems in houses which are fairly airtight and insulated - have a search here for numerous discussions.

    Or your double glazing could be rubbish - are the galzing units clear or cloudy on the inside.

    S.
    • CommentAuthormugendo
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2008
     
    Thanks, I will try your suggestion of the open window.
    The glazing units are clear on the inside
  4.  
    You also should look for sources of excess moisture in your house. Do you, for example, dry your washing on your radiators? Do you mercilessly boil vegetables with no lid on the pan? Opening the window should not be considered a long term solution as you'll just be wasting energy. As skywalker said, a heat recovery ventilation system is a good solution. Or even a dehumidifier might be useful too.

    Paul in Montreal.
    • CommentAuthorsipman
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2008
     
    MVHR will solve the problem

    we have a client who drys his washing in his loft space using MVHR (has thrown out his tumble dryer) no condensation anywhere in the house

    Sipman
    • CommentAuthorDavipon
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2008
     
    Have just finished a major refurb on a bungalow that had serious condensation,turned out to be failed Central heating pipework under screed,warning signs were constant drip in F & E tank,condensation & slight damp at base of some internal blockwork walls.Hope its just lack of vents.
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2008
     
    Most likely insuffient ventilation as others have suggested. Life - breathing, cooking, showering - puts water into the air and without ventilation (deliberate or otherwise) the humidity climbs until it rains or condenses out no matter what the temperature. Raising the temperature does increase the amount of water the air can hold, and sometimes this is enough to compensate for a lack of ventilation, but there are limits.

    The dilema is that leaving windows open a crack increases heating bills. That's the problem that heat recovery systems are intended to solve. They provide ventilation with reduced heat losses. We'd had problems in all three of the houses we'd owned. When we decided to self build we fitted a whole house vent system with heat recovery. Quite expensive to install but it does work very well. Perhaps too early for you to look at that though.
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2008
     
    Having condensation on the inside of your windows is a good indication that the house is not full of drafts.

    Most people dont get this problem because their homes are so air leaky. :bigsmile:
    • CommentAuthorskywalker
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2008
     
    I wish that was true in my Kitchen Tony!

    S.
    • CommentAuthorskywalker
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2008
     
    mugendo

    hows that experiment going?

    I'm interested as we are looking hard at MHRV/MVHR whatever the abbreviation is - a cookerXbox in our case (doesn't do bluray apparently - a bit tersely put by the salesman I felt but anyway...).

    Although our circumstances are a bit different; leaky 1930's halfway through the destruction cycle.

    Regards.

    S.
    • CommentAuthormugendo
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2008
     
    Thanks for all the feedback, i tried the suggestion of opening the trickle vent at the top of the wooden double glazed units.
    It worked no condenstation visible!I will try the experiment over a longer term basis.
    Thanks again everyone
    Mugendo
    • CommentAuthormidknight
    • CommentTimeNov 22nd 2008
     
    <blockquote><cite>Posted By: Davipon</cite>Have just finished a major refurb on a bungalow that had serious condensation,turned out to be failed Central heating pipework under screed,warning signs were constant drip in F & E tank,condensation & slight damp at base of some internal blockwork walls.Hope its just lack of vents.</blockquote>

    Well found - nothing like a challenge
    • CommentAuthorEdF
    • CommentTimeNov 23rd 2008
     
    We spent 4 nights in an excellent new barn conversion near Penrith last week (a holiday rental for a BIG birthday with classic car hire). It was completed last July and had conventional wet CH with radiators. I noticed that there was virtually no condensation on the bedroom windows in the morning, unlike our house, which was built in 1988 and the bedroom windows (DG) are running wet in the morning. The rental CH went off at 11pm and on at 7am, but after getting up in the middle of the night and going back into the bedroom, it was still warm. My only conclusion was that the latest insulation requirements make a LOT of difference.

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