How to switch windows to winter mode

Winter is coming, and if your house is not as warm as you would like, then you should pay attention to plastic windows – perhaps the air temperature will rise if you adjust the windows for the winter period. This is easy to do by changing the sash pressure force – however, this operation should be approached wisely.

When installing windows, it is worth asking the master what kind of clamping force mode will be set, but it is not difficult to find out for yourself.

• As a rule, summer is set by default, since this is the weakest option, in which there is no excessive pressure on the sealing rubber. It is believed that this option is the best, because it allows you to extend the life of the window due to the fact that with fluctuations in street temperature, the component parts of the window can shrink and expand without exposing the structure to additional load.

• In standard or medium mode, light pressure is already applied to the seal, which leads to increased sound insulation and the absence of drafts, but at the same time, the life of the sealing rubber is reduced.

• The winter mode involves the tightest possible clamping of the sash and significant compression of the seal, due to which it can lose its original properties in just a few years – in this case, blowing through the window is not ruled out if you then transfer it to another mode.

If there are no special problems with sound insulation, and drafts do not annoy, then summer mode is preferable throughout the year – this is what manufacturers advise in order to increase the life of the fittings.

However, there are times when changing the mode to winter is simply necessary – for example, the sealant has dried up, lost its original shape and the window has begun to blow through. To find out if there are any gaps in the window, you can do this: take an ordinary notebook sheet, open the window, clamp the sheet with a sash and close the window by turning the handle. If you can’t pull out the sheet, then you don’t have to worry about the window, everything is in order with it, if you pulled it out without difficulty, it makes sense to change the mode. True, not all windows allow this to be done – in cheap models, there may not be a mechanism for switching the clamping force. But in more expensive windows, you can already find movable pins (cylindrical protruding heads, they are also called eccentrics), by turning which we will adjust the clamping force.

Changing the mode is not difficult, but first of all you need to find out what type of pins are on your window, and for this you need to find them. We open the window and look at the end of the sash – a standard window is usually equipped with trunnions at the bottom, in the center and at the top, but can be located with a non-standard solution and along the perimeter of the entire window

There are several types of eccentrics:

1. Oval: if they stand vertically, then this is the summer mode, at an angle – intermediate, horizontally – winter.

2. Round trunnions with a serif – if it is closer to the street, then this is the winter period, if vice versa, then the summer one.

3. Round ones with a displaced center can also be provided with serifs and the principle of orientation in this case is the same, but you can also determine the mode by the mixed center – the closer it is to the room, the weaker the sash is pressed.

Also, the trunnions can be recessed into the frame, and in order to change the clamping force, you will first need to pull them out with pliers and turn them back to their original position.

We wipe the accessories from dust and dirt, after which we lubricate the moving parts, for example, with industrial vaseline. Based on the design of the trunnions installed, you will need pliers, a hexagon or a screwdriver. We put, accordingly, the oval pins horizontally, if they are round, then we turn them with a notch towards the street, with a displaced center – the wide side is closer to the room. It is equally necessary to turn all the trunnions that you find on the sash.

You can check whether the pressing force has changed, again using the already described method with a sheet of paper or by turning the handle that locks the window – in winter mode it will move more tightly.