Aluminium windows have been fitted to buildings for nearly a hundred years around the world. Although they have not necessarily been the most popular type of frame for Australian homes, they have certainly featured in architectural windows here and there, especially in public buildings and office blocks. In fact, aluminium windows only really became more widespread globally after they were installed in the Empire State Building in the 1930s. These days, aluminium architectural windows look just as good as their decades-old counterparts but they now perform much better than ever before. What do you need to know about modern aluminium windows?

High-Strength Frames

To begin with, the frames for aluminium windows are extruded in a process that means their profile is completely uniform all the way around. This uniformity allows for precision products to be made. In the past, it was not always possible to fit two panes of glass into an aluminium frame. However, modern aluminium windows can cope with double glazing and even triple glazing, if required. This is because of the high tensile strength of modern frame profiles allow for large expanses of glazing to be held securely, even when there are multiple panes to consider.

A Variety of Finishes

Although aluminium is an attractive-looking silvery metal in its own right, some people prefer to have another colour instead. If you would like conventional white frames, or any other colour, then it is perfectly possible to finish aluminium with a layer of powder coating. Powder coating is a process whereby dyed resin hardens on a given material. This means that your aluminium frames won't scratch easily once they're fitted. What's more, every single standard RAL colour is available to choose from.

Good Thermal Insulation

Some people used to be put off buying aluminium windows because the metal is known to be an efficient conductor of heat. The last thing that many Australian homeowners want is to have the outside of an aluminium window frame heating up in the sun and transferring its energy inside like a radiator since this pushes up air conditioning costs. That said, modern aluminium windows will come equipped with a thermal break inside the frame, which provides an effective insulating layer. Materials like ABS tend to be used for this purpose. The result is that the energy of the sun is kept out in summer as well as helping to retain heat inside during the winter months.