The Piva Group world vocabulary includes all the specific terms related to our business and production. Giving our customers a comprehensive definition of the main words related to our business is a gesture far from obvious.

PVC

Polyvinyl Chloride, commonly known as PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer mainly of natural origin, made of 57% chlorine, deriving from kitchen salt, and the remaining 43% is carbon and hydrogen with the addition of other substances, such as stabilizers and lubricants, to give it specific physical and mechanical properties that are suitable to meet the performance characteristics necessary for its multiple uses.

Polyvinyl chloride is one of the world’s most widely used plastic materials thanks to its versatility. In fact, although it is rigid in its basic form, it can be mixed with plasticizers that make it flexible and mouldable.
 
PVC is used in thousands of applications, from construction to food and pharmaceutical packaging, medical and surgical instruments and even materials for civil protection. Its frequent use is because PVC guarantees compliance with the energy saving and environmental compatibility standards currently in force.

PVC features many advantages, ensures high performance at affordable costs, it is an insulating, stable, resistant and versatile material and it is fire resistant, durable, hygienic and recyclable.

In its production cycle there is very little use of natural non-renewable raw materials and thanks to its characteristics it is 100% recyclable.

Among its countless uses, the manufacture of profiles for doors and windows is quite frequent.

Aluminium

Aluminium is by far the youngest of the metals for industrial use, having been produced for the first time on a large industrial scale barely over 100 years ago. 

Chemical element with atomic number 13, aluminium is one of the most common elements in nature. It is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and is extracted from bauxite that accounts for about 8% of the earth's crust. It is remarkably soft and lightweight.

Aluminium oxidizes immediately when it comes into contact with air, creating a surface protection that makes it resistant to water and several chemical substances. This property makes it the most widely used metal in the transport, building and construction industries.

Aluminium can be 100% recycled innumerable times without losing its original properties, which remain unaltered, even after numerous recycling operations, i.e. when primary aluminium acquires the definition of "recycled aluminium" or "secondary aluminium".

Aluminium has excellent reflective capacity, it diffuses and reflects light, reducing the dispersion of light from the light source and hence fostering energy saving.

ACRYLCOLOR

It is a very innovative colouring technique. In the co-extrusion process, the basic white PVC body and the coloured acrylic glass are permanently joined together. The fusion of these two materials gives rise to a smooth, coloured surface that withstands atmospheric agents without any problem.

RC2

The acronym RC (wich stands for Resistance Class) indicates the class of resistance required to certify the anti-burglary feature of a door or window.

The resistance classes are divided according to a test procedure, employing tools and methods used by burglars and to test break-in resistance.

Break-in resistance does not mean that a door or a window is impregnable, but it is the property of a door or a window to withstand the attack of intruders, using different tools for a specific amount of time, to discourage the intention of the burglar.

The tools used for RC2 certification are screwdrivers, pliers, wedges and hammers.

Warm Edge Spacer

The warm edge spacer has the advantage of significantly reducing the cold edge effect and condensation formation on the edges of glass and windows.

The warm edge ensures perfect adherence of the sealants between the barriers even at high temperatures as well as significant reduction in the glass thermal transmission and it can hold any gas filled in the space.

Argon gas

Argon gas is an extremely stable, odourless and tasteless chemical element. It is part of the noble gases and constitutes/accounts for about 0.94% by volume of the earth's atmosphere. Argon is isolated by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is used in many sectors, such as lighting technology - as it does not react with the incandescent filaments of bulbs – the steel industry to weld special steels, and in glassworks where it has also been used for some years. In the glassworks sector it is used to fill the space in double-glazed doors or windows, because at the same temperature, it has a lower thermal conductivity with respect to the air, thus improving thermal insulation efficiency.

Micro-ventilation

This is a slight shift of the sash/leaf about 1 mm from the frame to avoid useless heat dispersion and favour a change of air. The air exchange inside our houses avoids the accumulation of bacteria that are responsible for humidity and mould.

Ug=Thermal Insulation

The lower the thermal transmittance value, the greater the thermal capacity to maintain the internal temperature of the room. This feature is representative of winter and/or summer energy saving.

g: Solar Control

The selective capacity or solar factor, means the ability of the glazing to reduce the solar energy that penetrates into a room. The lower the g-value, the greater the ability to block out solar radiation, hence resulting in improved indoor comfort and air conditioning cost savings.

LT: Light Transmission

Light Transmission is the ability of a glass pane to transmit light into a room. The higher the value, the greater the amount of light entering the room with a consequent reduction in lighting costs.

dB: Sound Insulation

Noise reduction helps to improve internal soundproofing. The higher the value, the better the acoustic comfort.

Structural Bonding of the glass

The glass is glued to the window sash with an adhesive, thus creating a mechanical connection between the two elements. This stable mounting of the glass to the frame guarantees torsional rigidity. A metal reinforcement may therefore no longer be necessary. As a result, larger, but at the same time lighter glass windows can be manufactured; thereby improving door and window thermal and sound insulation.