Argon Filled Windows At High Altitude

Argon permeation is greater than air for most ig sealants which can result in negative pressure in the ig air space.

Argon filled windows at high altitude.

Milgard is now making windows in salt lake city and offering argon gas as an option to those of us at 6000. We can specify argon filled units if the job site altitude and the nature of the window is such that the structural integrity and warranty can be maintained. Argon filled units also cannot use breather tubes for high altitude applications. It is also likely that water vapor will gradually enter the ig unit resulting in fogging if enough moisture gets in.

These inert gases are denser than regular air so they slow heat transfer to a crawl keeping more of the heated air inside your high altitude home. When windows are filled with a special low conductivity gas such as argon or krypton it is clear that those gases will be lost over time if capillary tubes are left open. While an air filled gap between two panes helps improve window efficiency argon or krypton gas infills are even better. One competing window rep claims that all windows regardless of elevation will lose their gas fill over time because of the small size of the argon or krypton atoms.

When windows filled with argon are transported and installed in buildings above 5 000 ft however lower atmospheric pressure causes the argon gas to expand which in turn can lead to adverse effects. Secondarily we can sell the windows with capillary tubes or air filled.