We're building a house in the Moscow region, and we've hit the window question. Everyone recommends PVC, but I've seen some beautiful aluminum frames. Which ones should I go for in terms of durability and heat insulation?
It's not quite the right choice between them - aluminum and PVC solve different problems. For a house in the Moscow region, PVC is genuinely more practical: it holds heat better (aluminum conducts cold, you need special thermal breaks, which makes the structure more expensive), requires no maintenance, and handles our frosts and thaws just fine. Aluminum frames look beautiful, but they're really more for offices, galleries, or southern regions - in cold season they frost over, condensation builds up, and heating bills go up. If you want elegance, you can find PVC with an aluminum cladding on the outside.
There's a bit of a flawed premise here - beautiful aluminum frames and good thermal insulation for the Moscow region are almost mutually exclusive. Aluminum conducts cold brilliantly, and even with "thermal break" technology, windows made from it lose a lot of heat; those are typically installed in offices or southern regions. For a residential home in your climate zone, PVC is genuinely more practical - it retains temperature better, lasts a long time, and doesn't require frequent maintenance. If aesthetics matter to you, find a quality PVC profile that mimics wood or metal - it looks just as good, and the functionality is there.
For the Moscow region, PVC is definitely the way to go - aluminum is just ineffective here. Even with thermal breaks, you'll feel noticeable heat loss in winter. I had friends who installed these beautiful aluminum windows in a cottage nearby, and they spent two winters dealing with condensation and drafts before they switched everything over to PVC. If you want aesthetics, go for a quality PVC profile with modern design - they don't look like Soviet windows anymore, and you can order them in aluminum finish. With proper maintenance, they'll last twenty to thirty years, and they hold heat way better.
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