Triple Glazing Berkshire

This is a common misconception, the level of solar gain is actually less than a double glazed unit due to the extra pane of glass and cavity. The overall energy balance of a triple glazed window will ensure that more heat is retained in the room in the colder months of the year.

This can cause a small problem in the winter months as the external pane of glass is not being heated from the house and this will result in external condensation in certain conditions. This will generally happen on a cold, clear and still winter’s nights and will normally clear quickly in the morning.

The cost of triple glazing is obviously more than double glazing. The u-value of a triple glazed window with the correct spacing between the panes of glass and argon gas offers up to a 50% improvement over A rated double glazing. If you are replacing your windows, building a new house or an extension then it is certainly worth considering.

The truth is it would take many years to repay the additional cost, but it will help save on your energy bills immediately and some would argue it would make your house more attractive to potential buyers if you decided to sell it. Houses in the UK have to have an energy performance certificate when being put up for sale.

As a rough guide triple glazing will cost on average around £150 extra per window over double glazing, based on one square metre of glass. This would be the average window size of a 1.2m square (4ft) UK window as it would have around one square metre of glass.

Good quality triple glazed windows are up to 50% more thermally efficient than ‘A’ rated double glazed windows, so you would see an immediate effect on energy savings. If you home has older double glazed windows or even single glazing then the improvement would be huge, as an example the u-value of a single pane of glass is 5.5, the u-value of a 44mm triple glazed unit is around 0.5. This would considerably reduce condensation on the internal face of the glass and cold spots around the window and in your room.

For a long time windows in the UK were single glazed, in the 1980’s double glazing really took off. Back in the day the best double glazed window had a u-value of around 3 w/m²k. The glass units were made of two panes of normal glass with a metal spacer holding them apart. Triple glazed windows have changed the thermal performance hugely.

Today, the units are manufactured with three panes of glass, two of them will have a low-e coating, the gaps between the panes are filled with an inert gas commonly argon. Finally the triple glazed unit will have two warm edge spacers that stop cold transferring through the edge of the glass. This will normally reduce the overall whole window u-value down to less than 1 w/m²k. Do remember all triple glazing is not the same, generally with argon filled units, the gaps between the panes should be 16mm, any smaller and the efficiency will be less.

We can offer 28mm triple glazed units (2 x 8mm gaps) filled with krypton gas and 3 layers of 4mm glass, which achieves a centre pane U-value of 0.50 W/m2K. We offer this smaller unit to accommodate for the smaller units that we offer and for our customers who prefer the bead detail on the 28mm system. Krypton gas works better on smaller air-gaps than argon, but is MUCH more expensive than argon filled units. Either way KJM can provide a triple glazed unit to suit your requirements.