Triple pane glazing to minimise heat loss
Windows are one of the most important components in a Passive House building. In fact, without great windows, achieving the Passive House standard is hardly possible.
Triple pane glazing is three panes of glass instead of one or two. By having an extra pane, you will increase efficiency and reduce noise. We already know that double glazing makes a significant improvement over single glazing. Upgrading from single to double glazing takes a long time to pay back in terms of energy efficiency. So would making the jump to triple glazing make that much of a difference? Yes it does and is imperative for Passive House standard.
Single glazing has a U-value of 5, older double glazing about 3 and new modern double glazing a U-value of 1.6, which is mainly due to improved methods of double glazing compared to older models. These improvements have been made through optimisation of the window cavity, the use of low emissivity coatings, using inert gas to fill the gap, and using aluminium spacers or ‘cold bridges’.