{"id":2496,"date":"2018-06-28T21:03:53","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T21:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/info.glass.com\/?p=2496"},"modified":"2022-04-04T10:54:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T14:54:49","slug":"best-insulating-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/best-insulating-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case of the Best Insulating Window"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question regarding the best replacement windows for energy efficiency and noise reduction:<\/h2>\n

Hello Glass Detective,<\/em><\/p>\n

I am trying to figure out the best option to replace my windows throughout the house. I am looking for both energy efficiency and noise reduction. I can go with:<\/em><\/p>\n

-triple pane with Krypton gas for a bit of noise reduction<\/em>
\n-double pane for energy efficiency<\/em>
\n-double pane with Krypton gas and lamination instead of the 3rd pane for noise reduction<\/em><\/p>\n

What will be better? And if I add the lamination to the low e double panes, will the lamination affect the energy efficiency of the low-e panes?<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you,<\/em><\/p>\n

Rocio L.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer to question regarding the best window replacement option\u00a0\u00a0for energy efficiency and noise reduction:<\/h2>\n

Dear Rocio,<\/p>\n

Thank you for contacting the Glass Detective with your request to assist you in selecting windows for your home.\u00a0 You stated that energy efficiency and noise reduction were your priorities.\u00a0 You then mention some alternatives that you are apparently aware of that would help you achieve energy efficiency and sound reduction.\u00a0 In response to your questions, and in consideration of what you may apparently already know or believe, I am going to render my personal opinion as to what I would do if I were you.\u00a0 I\u2019m also going to put a couple of qualifying statements on this response, but I think you will understand where I\u2019m coming from when you read the entire commentary.<\/p>\n

A little over 24 years ago, I built my own home and acted as the general contractor.\u00a0 At the time, I was deeply involved in the glass business and spent a fair amount of time reviewing performance data and pricing for the various products that I thought would work for me.\u00a0 Approximately three years ago, I sold that home and those 24-year old windows<\/a> were performing as well as they did on day one and showed no signs of aging.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also been fortunate enough to work on hundreds of window projects during my 47 years in the industry.\u00a0 With this in mind, I think the following statements may prove beneficial to you.<\/p>\n

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  1. \n
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      1. You get what you pay for. This is as true in the window business as it is in any other commercial endeavor.\u00a0 In my part of the country there is always some window supplier offering free installation, or every other window is free, or similar promotions.<\/li>\n
      2. Brand name windows are sometimes a little overpriced because you are paying for a name and not necessarily the product you are receiving.<\/li>\n
      3. Regardless of the above statements, in my opinion you are always going to be better off buying a name brand, fully warrantied product. Window manufacturers come and go.\u00a0 There is a reason that some of the well-known window manufacturers have been in business many years and enjoy a stellar reputation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Specific answers to your questions are as follows:<\/h4>\n
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            1. I would choose (and did choose for my own residence) an aluminum clad wood window. The aluminum cladding is on the exterior side of the window.\u00a0 This arrangement gives you good thermal performance out of the framing system and the aluminum exterior is durable and attractive.<\/li>\n
            2. While you do not tell me the orientation of the majority of your windows in regards to the sun, I don\u2019t believe any of the gas-filled options for insulated units have an effective enough \u201cpay back\u201d to be considered.<\/li>\n
            3. A triple-pane insulating glass unit is a viable option to consider. Spend your money here and not on any gas filling if you are looking for maximum energy efficiency.<\/li>\n
            4. You definitely want a Low-E coating on the inboard side of the most exterior lite of glass. In the trade, this is known as a second surface coating.<\/li>\n
            5. Based on the information provided and the concerns you raise, I want to encourage you to consider a laminated glass inner lite whether you go with a double or triple unit. The laminated product provides a number of benefits including (a) sound reduction, (b) almost total elimination of any UV light, (c) safety, in that if the lite does get broken it will tend to stay together and not break into shards like ordinary glass that can cause injuries, (d) laminated glass is much harder to break through in the case of an intruder wanting to get through your window.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              I don\u2019t know the sizes or locations of the windows that you will be putting into your home, but I believe the above recommendations are appropriate given the information provided.\u00a0 If cost is not an issue, the triple pane unit with the Low-E coating mentioned above and an interior lite of laminated glass should give you outstanding performance.\u00a0 The above may be argued by certain other pundits and other industry experts, but if I were building my house today, it\u2019s what I\u2019d use.\u00a0 Use a reputable window dealer who has been in business for a considerable time.\u00a0 Feel free to share this response with them.\u00a0 I truly hope this proves to be of some value to you.<\/p>\n

              I thank you for contacting the Glass Detective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              The Glass Detective takes on the case of the best insulating window where he will determine which window types will offer both energy efficiency and noise reduction. Find out more here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1395,159,1352],"tags":[256,290,93,558],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glass.com\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}