Double glazing vs triple glazing skylights:
Which will suit you better?

One of the major questions our customers have is triple glazing vs double glazing: is one really better than the other?

In this guide, we’re going to take a closer look at triple glazing vs double glazing.

The benefits of triple glazing.

It’s worth noting that – because one is simply an extension of the other – double and triple glazing share a number of benefits (we’ll go onto the differences in a minute):

• • With extra glazing, you can really cut down on the amount of heat allowed to escape your home and cut down on the amount of cold air allowed to get in. This leads to a much warmer home and a more pleasant living atmosphere. This explains why older, Victorian-style homes are often colder.

• • Glazing means better noise insulation. If you live in a louder urban area, traditional double glazing can have a big impact how much noise is allowed to seep into your home: ideal if you’re raising a family. Whether it’s traffic or simply noisy neighbours, glazing can really keep the volume down.

• • Glazing reduces condensation. We’ve already written about condensation and why it’s a bad thing, but suffice to say that extra glazing remains one of the most effective ways of helping to avoid it. The extra glazing helps to reduce excess moisture, and as a result you can enjoy lower risk of mould, mildew and other issues arising.
• • It reduces energy consumption. This is arguably one of the main reasons why you should consider investing in your glazing. It’s a simple fact that increased glazing will cut down the amount of energy you use day-to-day, helping to make your home ‘greener’ and saving you money on your bills for years after installation.

So, is triple glazing just the same benefits, but increased?

Interestingly enough, no, it’s not quite as cut and dried as that.

There’s no point disputing that triple glazing has the potential to outperform double, with some manufacturers claiming as much as a 50 per cent in heat loss reduction, according to an article in the Telegraph.

However, increases are not normally that substantial, as the Telegraph article notes: even quadruple glazing might not offer a 50 per cent increase!

For triple glazing, figures can reach around a 30 per cent increase on standard double glazing. So, if you’re considering it, there are a number of things to look at:

What glazing are you looking for?

Are you looking at ‘standard’ double glazing? At Sunsquare, we believe in being cutting edge, not in being ‘standard’. Our double glazing is thermally broken, meaning it can easily out-perform ‘normal’ double glazing, and can often reach the levels of triple glazing – at a much lower price.

Return on investment

Are you likely to get a return on investment? As we noted above, triple glazing can sometimes perform 30 per cent higher than double glazing…but it can be more expensive than that. The jump from normal windows to thermally broken models will nearly always leave you better off. Will triple glazing do the same? With the sort of temperature ranges we have in this country and the type of gasses that are now used in a double-glazed unit, the impact of triple glazing is minimal and in some cases, there is a non-existent difference.

Triple glazing and frames

Are improvements based around frames, rather than just the glass? It’s important to remember that the frame has a great deal to do with the thermal performance of any window. If your potential triple glazing manufacturer is offering higher performance, is it because they’re including the change from the frame replacement? It’s possible – in some cases, likely – that you could enjoy a very similar increase at a lower price through a higher quality manufacturer like Sunsquare.

U-value & glazing specification

People also often confuse U-value with glazing specification. It would be easy to quote a staggeringly good U-value based entirely on the glass specification, but most companies don’t quite tell the truth when it comes to this. The frame is just as vital to the equation as anything else and in most cases the quotes of low U-values can be a deception as, once added to the frame, the actual U-value doubles or more!

A triple glazed rooflight also weighs significantly more than a double glazed version.

At Sunsquare we have resolved that issue if the specification requires a triple glazed unit. Our heat mirror unit weighs the same as a double glazed unit, whilst containing an inner film layer that acts as a third layer if extreme thermal properties are necessary.

In summary, over 90% of the UK’s glazing industry continues to use double glazed units; and there must be a reason why.

Find out more

We know that exploring these options can seem complicated – there’s a lot of technical information to look through and things to consider. If you’re unsure at any stage of the buying process, always feel free to give Sunsquare a call on 01284 848781: our friendly, experienced sales team will happily go through the different options with you to ensure you get the perfect rooflight option for your home.