Learn about Triple Pane Window

Triple pane windows utilize three layers of glass sandwiched together over two sealed air spaces. They have really low heat transfer rates, making your building envelope more energy efficient. Triple pane windows might be required to qualify for high-performance building certifications such as Passive House. Triple pane windows increase the temperature of the inside surface of the window during the winter. This reduces the radiant heat loss from your body and makes you much more comfortable, even in lower room temperatures. Triple pane windows have two chambers that can be filled with argon or krypton gas. This contributes significantly to higher energy efficiency.

Look for argon-filled, low-e coated, Energy Star rated windows with insulated spacers separating the panes.</p><p>The insulating value of windows is usually rated by the whole window U-factor and the lower the value, the better. A triple pane window can have a U-factor as low as 0.14 Btu/hr-sq ft °F (required by the Passive House standard).

In Southern, hotter climates, the amount of solar radiation that enters through a window should also be minimized. This is rated by the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) which is a value between 0 and 1. The lower a window's solar heat gain coefficient, the less solar heat it transmits. Energy Star rated windows for Southern climates should be less than 0.25 SHGC.

Triple pane windows have really low heat transfer rates, making your building envelope more energy efficient. To qualify for high performance building certifications such as Passive House, triple pane windows might be required. They also increase the temperature of the inside surface of the window during the winter, which reduces radiant heat loss from your body and makes you much more comfortable, even in lower room temperatures. Lastly, they have an additional benefit of noise reduction, keeping your house nice and quiet.

There is a long-standing myth that says that glass acts like a very slow liquid and flows slowly over the years, evidenced by the fact that the bottoms of window panes in old cathedrals are thicker than the tops. Researchers have proven that this is in fact not true. Glass does not flow. Glass production methods in past centuries made one end thicker than the other, and workers tended to install the heavy ends at the bottom. Modern glass is consistent in thickness, and will stay that way indefinitely.