Double or triple glazing: which should you choose?
This is the first choice you make when ordering a window, and usually the only one where the price difference is obvious straight away. Here is what the extra money buys.
- Free measuring
- Free delivery
- Free installation
- Free disposal of the old window
In business since 1997. The quote is free.
What we are talking about
A glass unit is a sealed block of panes with gaps between them. The gaps are filled with gas, usually argon, which conducts heat less well than air.
The terminology trips people up. In English and Estonian, windows are named by the number of panes: double glazed has two, triple glazed has three. Russian-speaking sellers often count the chambers, the gaps between panes, instead, so a "single-chamber" unit is double glazed and a "two-chamber" one is triple glazed. Worth knowing if you are comparing quotes from different firms.
What the third pane gives you
- Warmth. The third pane adds another gas-filled gap. In winter you notice it mainly because the cold draught near the window disappears, and you can put a chair or a bed next to it.
- Quiet. The difference is not always audible, but on a street with trams, on a ground floor by a main road or near the port, it is considerable.
- Less condensation. The inner pane of a triple glazed unit stays warmer, so moisture forms on it less often.
When the extra cost is worth it
Almost always if the window faces north or into the wind, if there is a busy street outside, if it is a bedroom, or if the house is heated by electricity and every kilowatt-hour counts.
Less often for an unheated room, an outbuilding, or a small window in a storeroom or bathroom. There the third pane changes very little, while the window gets heavier.
What people tend to forget
A triple glazed unit is heavier. On a large sash that means more load on the hardware and more frequent adjustment. On standard sizes the difference is negligible, but if you are ordering a wide balcony door or a panoramic window, mention it when we measure so that the right hardware is chosen.
And heat is not only lost through the glass. If the wall around the opening is not insulated and the reveals were finished in a hurry, part of the difference between double and triple glazing will leak away through that joint.
What it costs with us
With us, triple glazing costs €100 more per window than double glazing, the same for every configuration except the three-sash window, where the difference is €150. The prices on the website are shown both ways: flip the switch above the table to see each.
We make our own double and triple glazed windows and have been in business since 1997. Call +372 5555 1682 and we will help you choose for the room in question.