In-Situ Dew-point Measurement to Assess Life Span of Insulating Glass Units

摘要

Replacement of insulating glass (IG) units in buildings is expensive. Replacement costs can be estimated fairly accurately. However, timing is less certain. In the author's experience, time estimates for replacement are often based on poor understanding of the causes of IG unit "failure" (water vapour condensation on glass surfaces facing the IG unit cavity) and previous negative experience, and thus are reactive rather than predictive. The life span of insulating glass units in service is not well known. Insulating glass units have been made in North America since the late 1950s. Laboratory test methods developed in Canada in the late 1950s and early 1960s, subsequently used as the basis of most IG unit test methods worldwide, were intended to assess the likelihood of successful performance through the IG unit manufacturer's warranty period, not to determine service life span. In the 1980's, based on in-situ testing for the "Field Correlation Study" by the Sealed Insulating Glass Manufacturers Association (SIGMA) in the USA, Spetz proposed that one component of the laboratory test method, dew-point measurement of cavity gas fill, could be used to estimate time to failure of IG units in service. This technique is examined in this paper and modifications are suggested to improve accuracy.