Can You Replace Double Glazed Units with Triple Glazed Units?

Double glazing has been around for many years now, and has offered many benefits over the traditional single glazed windows, such as energy efficiency improvements to help save on energy bills, security enhancements as a tough and durable barrier between your home and the outside world, as well as offering a reduction in noise pollution – all around helping people to stay more comfortable at home.

However, times have moved on and many homeowners now opt for triple glazing? Triple glazed windows take what’s great about double glazing and improve on it. As the name suggests, it’s an additional pane of glass and therefore a whole other layer of protection for your home.

As a result, many homeowners wonder, can you replace double glazed units with triple glazed units? And if so, what sort of benefits can I expect to enjoy?

Theoretically, the answer is yes – it’s possible to squeeze three glass panes into a double-glazed unit. However, the improvement in performance will be minimal, as all you do is add another piece of glass. It also adds more weight and generally the hardware of a double-glazed window is not designed to copy with this, leading to failure. It is therefore recommended to replace the whole double glazing with a triple-glazed window, not just add a third glass pane.

Quality high performance triple glazed windows are designed to offer the best possible performance. Improved insulation of the frame, correct spacing of the glass and triple gaskets for improved airtightness are just some of the features that provide better energy-efficiency, sound insulation and security.

If you want to enjoy further improved performance and more benefits for you and your home. In this guide, we’ll dive deeper into replacing double glazed units with triple glazed, and the benefits that this will bring.

18th century woodcutter cottages: Double glazing was replaced by Internorm triple glazed windows, doors and lift & slide doors – mix of timber-aluminium and uPVC-aluminium products.

Let’s start with the basics – what exactly is triple glazing? As the name suggests, triple glazing units are made up of three glass panes which are typically filled with argon or krypton gas. These additional panes, as well as the sections of gas between them, help to reduce the transfer of heat and noise between your home and the outside world. As such, the innovative design helps to improve thermal efficiency and reduce noise pollution.

Triple glazing is much more effective at reducing thermal transference than single or double glazed windows. This goes both ways – in summer months, you’ll notice less intense heat getting through, so you can stay cooler and more comfortable; and in winter, the warmth that you’re generating from your central heating will find it harder to escape, so you won’t have to run up your energy bills only for it to escape. This makes triple glazing a cost-effective solution for staying comfortable in the long run, all year round.

For some homes and homeowners, it’s true that double glazing may be adequate. Certainly, if you’re upgrading from single glazing, the improvements you notice will be immediate and considerable. However, there are many cases where triple glazing will still be the best overall investment – particularly if you’re finding that your existing double glazing just isn’t cutting it.

If you live near a particularly busy road, for example, or even an airport, noise pollution will be a big problem. Double glazing will do as much as possible to prevent this from breaching your space, but there’s only so much it can do against decibel levels of up to 70 or 80 around airports or under flightpaths, and even 90dB for particularly busy inner city streets. In these cases, that third layer of glazing in a high performance triple glazed window is going to make a very tangible difference to your quality of life, and ensures a good night’s sleep. Internorm works closely with , a very active organisation that certifies products from well-known brands offering low noise pollution.

Similarly, with the cost of living constantly on the rise (or it seems), it’s never been more important to be aware of your energy consumption – and how to reduce it. Triple glazing is more effective than double glazing at keeping the heat in your home for longer, ensuring your reliance on your central heating is as low as possible. On another note, for those conscious of their carbon footprint and aiming for a ‘greener’ and more sustainable lifestyle, triple glazed windows are the sensible option as they’ll help cut down your energy usage.

is the ultimate in building standard, ensuring a highly energy efficient home. Many people are now building or renovating to passive house standard, and some are opting for certification. Find out more about Passivhaus for new builds and EnerPHit for retrofit project, and how and doors can help you achieve it.

Retrofit in Kent: old double-glazed windows were replaced with Internorm timber-aluminium windows, doors and lift & slide doors to create a highly energy-efficient home.

The energy performance of quality triple glazing units is considerably more noticeable than double glazing due to:

• An extra layer of glass

• Better designs and construction to reduce the risk of draughts, condensation and damp

• Better insulation within the frame

• More gas within the separate three panes

Alongside the technical benefits, triple glazing will help to improve your overall quality of life, which is hard to measure but impossible to put a price on. You want to be as comfortable in your home as possible, not only physically but also financially. By soundproofing your property against exterior noise, reducing thermal transference and keeping your energy bills as low as they can be, you’ll stay relaxed in every way throughout the year – all thanks to your windows. Homeowners have noticed a drop in energy bills of between 50 – 80% when not just triple glazed windows were correctly installed, but the whole house was fully insulated.

• Reduced maintenance

• Possibility of adding value to your property

• Increased comfort

• Better energy efficiency and performance

• Reduction of noise pollution

• Weatherproofing abilities

Find out more in this short YouTube video:

Energy efficiency is a primary factor in choosing triple glazing over double glazing, and why one may be the right choice for you over the other. To quantify this difference, you’ll want to consider U-values as a way of measuring energy efficiency. This scale shows how effectively temperature is maintained with a property. The lower the value, the better the performance.

When comparing windows, always look at the Uw-value (whole window), which is made up of Ug (glass only) and Uf (frame only). At Internorm, our triple glazed units offer Uw-values of as low as 0.62 W/(m²K), which makes them ideal for low energy homes and Passivhaus properties. In the UK and Ireland, windows for Passivhaus projects are expected to fall below 0.8 W/(m²K).

Internorm was established over 95 years ago and has been manufacturing bespoke triple glazed and since 1979, so this is nothing new us. Through constant testing, Internorm’s triple glazing units are made to reach the very best standards possible. Through improved manufacturing techniques and integrated into our high quality timber-aluminium, uPVC, and uPVC-aluminium composite products, we are able to be at the forefront of the self build, Passivhaus/EnerPHit, and home improvement industry.

Internorm timber-aluminium windows with solar-powered integrated blinds were installed in all upstairs bedrooms, replacing old inefficient double glazing.

So, if you are looking to replace and upgrade your double glazing to triple glazing, your local Internorm Distribution Partner today. All of our high end and windows, doors and are available with triple glazing units as standard, that are designed to give your property the most eco friendly solution possible. Create a comfortable home that can confidently offer the best standards every single year, saving you money on your energy bills for decades.

today. Their team will offer expert advice, and demonstrate available triple glazing solutions for your project in their showroom. Internorm Distribution Partners also carry out surveys, expertly install Internorm windows and doors and ensure that you are supported from start to finish.