After 38 years in the trade, we’ll walk you through both options and let you choose what suits your house.
Triple glazing makes a real difference in some homes and only a small one in others. What decides which one you get usually comes down to the walls and windows you already have.
What triple glazing is – By Edinburgh glazing experts
A double glazed window uses two panes of glass with a gas-filled gap between them. Triple glazing means three panes of glass instead of two, so you get two sealed gaps instead of one.
Both are filled with argon gas to slow down how quickly heat escapes. Some windows use krypton instead, though our units are built with argon because of its excellent balance of performance with affordability for our customers.
The extra pane and gap matter because heat moves through glass far more easily than it moves through a brick wall. Adding a third pane and a second gas-filled gap slows that heat transfer down further.
The extra layer is what makes triple glazing more energy efficient than double glazing.
Available across our full window range
We fit triple glazing across our full range of uPVC windows and doors.
That includes casement windows, tilt-and-turn, top-hung and French styles, plus matching composite doors. So getting triple glazing doesn’t mean compromising on the window style you want for your house.
Triple glazing vs double glazing
The U-value numbers
The figure that tells you how well a window performs is its U-value, measured in W/m²K. The lower the number, the less heat escapes.
Compared to double glazing, triple glazing is built to push that number down further.
Our standard double glazing achieves 1.4 W/m²K. Our triple glazing, built with Soft Coat Xtra glass and argon-filled cavities, reaches values as low as 0.8 W/m²K across the whole window.
That 0.6 W/m²K drop means more heat loss saved than a single extra pane of glass might suggest.
Whether the extra performance pays off
Whether that gap in performance is worth the investment depends on your current windows and how long you plan to stay in the property.
A straight swap from decent double glazing to triple has a longer payback period than an upgrade from single glazing.
And decent double glazing (installed professionally) has already captured most of the available heat loss, so triple has less left to claw back.
Triple glazing is still more energy efficient than double, but it can depend how much you weigh up the additional cost vs comfort and savings.
The benefits and advantages of triple glazing
The main advantages of triple glazing are lower bills, less noise and less condensation, though not every home feels all three equally.
Lower energy bills
Energy efficiency is where triple glazing earns its keep. A window at 0.8 W/m²K loses heat far more slowly than one at 1.4. Scottish weather makes that gap easy to notice within winter or if you live in an exposed location.
In an older Scottish house with solid walls and a draughty loft, windows are often the biggest source of heat loss you can fix.
You won’t see the saving as one dramatic number on your bill.
It shows up as a boiler that cycles less often, and rooms that hold their heat for longer once the heating switches off. That’s a straightforward way to save money on heating without changing how you live.
A quieter home
The extra pane and cavity trap heat, and they cut down on sound transmission as well.
Homeowners near main roads, railway lines or flight paths tend to notice the soundproofing most. Acoustic glass options push the noise reduction further still.
Less condensation
A third pane keeps the inner surface of the glass closer to room temperature. That makes it less likely to hit the dew point where moisture condenses.
You get less moisture on the glass, and less chance of it running down onto the sill.
The cons of triple glazing
The main disadvantage of triple glazing is the extra cost, and that’s the honest starting point.
You’re paying for an extra pane of glass, a second gas-filled cavity and a heavier frame built to hold it all.
If your home already has decent double glazing installed within the last ten years, your windows might already be doing a good job. The improvement from switching to triple can be marginal in that case.
Triple glazed units are heavier than double, so the frame, hinges and locking mechanism all need to be built to cope with it. That’s part of why installation comes with an additional cost.
Triple glazing in older Scottish homes
Plenty of period properties across Glasgow and Edinburgh still have the original single-glazed sash windows. Others have a mix of draughty originals and mismatched replacements from different decades.
For those homes, triple glazing usually delivers the most obvious improvement, because you’re jumping from a single pane straight to three.
Sandstone tenements and older stone-built houses lose heat through their walls as well as their windows. Whether you choose double or triple glazing, the walls still need addressing separately.
Triple glazing closes off a major share of the heat loss in these properties. It works best when paired with other upgrades, like loft insulation.
If you’re in a conservation area and can’t replace the sash windows themselves, secondary glazing is worth asking about as a fallback.
It’s a different product to triple glazing, fitted behind the existing frame, and it won’t match the performance of a proper triple-glazed unit.
So, is triple glazing worth it?
Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of triple glazing comes down to one question for the windows in your home. Is the extra cost worth the extra performance?
For a home that’s still on single glazing or tired double-glazed windows from decades ago, yes, and it’s usually worth the upgrade.
The jump in U-value from around 1.4, or worse, down to 0.8 is a big one. You’ll feel it in lower bills, warmer rooms and less noise from outside.
For a home with energy-efficient double glazing installed in the last decade that’s still performing well, triple glazing is a smaller upgrade.
Triple glazing is still worth considering if noise reduction matters to you. If you’re due new windows anyway, the price difference between double and triple is often modest once installation is factored in either way.
We’ll always tell you honestly which option suits your home during a free survey.
Triple glazing FAQs
Do you still get condensation with triple glazing?
You can still get condensation on the outside of the glass on cold mornings. That’s a sign the window is insulating well. Internal condensation is far less likely than with single or older double-glazed windows, because the inner pane stays warmer.
How long do triple glazed windows last?
Our uPVC frames and glazed units come with a 15-year guarantee, and well-maintained uPVC windows commonly perform for 20 to 30 years beyond that. How long yours last depends partly on installation quality, which is why our own experienced fitters carry out the work instead of subcontracting it.
What’s the price difference between double and triple glazing?
The cost of triple glazing runs higher than double glazing per window. The gap largely comes down to the extra pane, the second gas fill and the stronger frame needed to support it all and because the heavier units take more care to fit. Exact pricing depends on the window’s size and style, so we always provide a written quote.
Can I get triple glazing in any window style?
Yes. We build triple glazing across our full uPVC range, so casement, tilt-and-turn and French windows all come with the option. You don’t need to choose a different frame style just to get the better U-value.
Get a free survey and an honest recommendation
We’ve been fitting windows across Central Scotland since 1988. We’d rather talk you through what your specific house needs than sell you the most expensive option by default.
Both triple and double glazed windows come with the same 15-year guarantee, and 0% finance is available if you’d prefer to spread the cost.
If you’re planning to upgrade your windows anyway, ask us about both options at your survey. We’ll keep things as efficient as possible for your budget.
Trust, sustainability and next steps
Over 500 Trustpilot reviews rate us 9.6 out of 10. We also run showrooms in Glasgow and Edinburgh if you’d like to see the glass and frames in person before booking a survey.
Our uPVC is also around 80% recycled or renewable material, thanks to our recycling programme. Making uPVC still carries a carbon footprint, so recycling old frames instead of sending them to landfill matters for the climate too.
Book a free home survey and we’ll measure up, talk you through the right glazing for your home, and give you a clear, no-pressure quote.
