Double or Triple glazing? information from fairtrades.com

Since double glazing is better at keeping the heat in and the cold out than

single glazing, surely it stands to reason that triple glazing is even better.

Perhaps, but is the increased performance worth the additional

investment?

You would be tempted to think this is the case but there is

more to the argument than meets the eye. Recent research has revealed that

triple glazing is actually capable of producing a larger carbon footprint than

double glazing. So, if you want your property to be energy efficient and you

want to reduce the size of its carbon footprint, it would appear that over the

long term you are better off sticking with high quality double

glazing.

Although this may well be a disappointment to those companies

who offer triple glazing as part of their product range, the Code for

Sustainable Homes, the UK's roadmap to moving towards building zero-carbon homes

requires new installations to have a U-value of no more than 0.8 on the

PassivHaus standard. To get a window with such a low U-value, one not only needs

to use triple glazed windows but the window frames need to be insulated too!

Then there is the issue of cost, the best triple glazing units use an inert gas

called krypton between the window panes instead of argon, argon is cheaper, and

the whole manufacturing process is that much more complicated and expensive.

Both industrial and commercial properties are already moving towards triple

glazing installations and many 'new home' builders will be taking triple glazing

far more seriously in the near future! As for whether domestic property owners

will be rushing to upgrade their current double glazing units for triple glazing

remains too be seen though.

There are many ways of reducing the carbon

footprint of a property, whether it is used for domestic or commercial purposes.

The true benefit in terms of overall performance between double and triple

glazing is very low and due to greater manufacturing costs are not necessarily

greener at this point in time. Initially we would like to encourage home owners

to view their property as a whole in terms of energy efficiencies! Double and

triple glazing and even solar PV works best when walls and roofs are insulated!

An insulated home is an energy efficient home and ensure that any money spend on

updating a property provides a good return on the investment. The trick is to

invest money where it will be repaid in terms of a lower carbon footprint,

providing energy savings over a longer period of time. Some companies offer

analysis of the carbon footprint of a premises and this can make interesting

reading.

for more information on double and triple glazing call Monarch Windows Devon on 01803 220453