Three reasons to choose triple over double glazing

 We are currently working with an architect who is building his own home near Winchester. One of the main issues we have been advising on is the optimum glazing for his home which has a large glass wall to the south. The internal floor areas are limited so maximising floor space and internal comfort are critical
 
Triple Glazing has three main advantages over double glazing:
 
1. It is more thermally efficient keeping your house warm in winter and cool in summer
2. It is Accoustically efficient meaning you relax in your own home with outside noises coming in
3. It would provide a far greater thermal comfort
 
 
Thermal comfort is defined as
‘ That condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment’ and was first researched by  Povl Ole Fanger in the 1960s and looked at a mixture of physical and physiological conditions which influence how we feel about our internal environment . Fangers contribution to the research on thermal comfort for homes and workplaces is still one of the most important goals of  HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) design. Thermal comfort is about how comfortable people are in indoor spaces and how their bodies relay information to their minds about the environmental temperature.
 
This is important when thinking about windows. If you stand in front of a cold window in winter or a hot window in summer you will generally feel thermal discomfort, its too cold or too hot. This is called radiant asymmetry and what we want to feel is radiant symmetry ie temperatures that are close together
 
As humans we don’t on average notice a 3-4 degree temperature difference, any more than this and we start to feel uncomfortable and ‘cold’, and this is when internal surface temperatures become important
 
With a double glazed window, if its cold outside say 0oC then the internal surface temperature will be about 16oC whereas on a good triple glazed window this will be 18oC. If your internal temperature is 21oC then you won’t notice the temperature difference with the triple galzed window, but you would with the double. This means you can comfortable use all of the floor space in the room, you can sit and read by the window or even sleep next to it.
 
The other problem with cold surfaces is draughts, if warm air hits something cold, it will cool and drop, and this causes air movement which we often feel at our feet. If the air movement is such we perceive a lower temperature at our feet than our heads, then again we start to feel uncomfortable and usually turn the heating up. Triple glazing will practically elimate this air movement and unwanted draughts. That’s why historically heating engineers have put radiators under windows to help eliminate these draughts. This means your radiators can be placed anywhere in the room
 
 
So with triple glazing it will be
1.    Warmer
2.    Quieter
3.    More comfortable