Double Glazing is it a Justifiable Cost?

Dig a hole and live underground

If you are building your own house, I would suggest you make the windows yourself. A friend of mine works in the glass industry, manufacturing the double glazing (DG) units for window companies nationwide in the UK. These are all toughened and gas filled; any gauge or colour required. When I installed DG in my house, I had several quotes from various DG companies for UPVC finished windows, but found I could buy the glass direct from the manufacturers and have a joiner make and install the frames in hard wood for 75% of the cost. No brainer! Glass is cheap, window companies make a lot of money.

I just built a house and used double insulated windows first code requires it in our area NewEngland and second why not .Remember you save on heating as well as cooling .I bought my windows from a local lumber company that made a mistake on an order for an entire house ,ordered 2x6 instead of 2x4 wall thickness .I was able to by them at a fraction of the original cost .Probably not the norm but you would be surprised how often misorders occur .

What you're ignoring is that while solar gain is operative a few hours/day on some days,
thermal losses due to conduction are a all day, every day effect.
I don't know your average temp.s, but 'bet ya a nickel`, if you do the sums you'll find the
double glazing pays. Especially with energy costs rising. Do the hi R walls too.
My brother and I built a high insulation house in mid New York State, (About 40 Deg. N.),
and it stayed above freezing during a four day hard freeze without a heating system installed.
The place was designed to maximize solar gain, and had a LOT of double glazing,
but the energy costs were so low we felt it was a good move even back then.
Probably even a better trade-off now if your area freezes in winter.

I put in high-quality double glazed windows in my present home when I rebuilt it. I should have had my head examined for not doing it before. Cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, quieter all the time. I can sit by a window and be comfortable, something that was not possible before in the extremes of weather. There is nothing else as good as double (unless it is triple-glazed) windows. Nothing else comes close whether it is storm windows, blinds, drapes, canopies or whatever. All the decisions aren't monetary, comfort has a value all of its own.

Here in northern Canada I have triple glazing in my house. Sure, I lose on the solar heat gain for the 8 hours of daylight, but I make up for it during the 16 hours of a cold night. Heavy drapes and blinds are also a necessity, summer and winter. Anyways, air leakage is probably a bigger issue. You'd be surprised how much heat loss/gain you'll pick up through loose fitting windows, doors and electrical or plumbing wall penetrations. Silicone caulking and duct tape is the standard Canadian solution. My mother's house is so airtight, it's like an old VW; you have to open the window to slam the door.

Where your substitution of window covering for double glaze may provide a comparable "U" rating, are you going to be there to close these coverings as soon as the sun is no longer shining through that particular set of windows, (east side, then north, then west)? And be at each window set at the right time to open them up the next day (if sunny)to fully benefit from the solar gain? Sounds good in theory, but more like a pain in the ass in reality!

About 10 years ago, I had the windows in our house replaced and went from single glazed w/ storm windows to triple glazed. Did it for energy savings, since we are approx 42 degrees N lat. In addition to the energy savings, we were very pleasently surprised by the noise reduction. Our house became almost deafeningly quiet and we live 1/4 mile from a 6 lane toll road. I now recommend considering triple glazed for noise reduction with a side benefit of energy savings.

When I was a boy, which is now quite some time ago, double glazing was accomplished by hanging what were called storm windows in place of the summer screens. The screens were stored until the following summer, when the storm windows were put away until the next winter. I suspect the U value was somewhat higher than that provided by what is called today a double glazed window. For one thing, the air space between the storn window and house window was significantly wider that than between the panes of glass in today's double hung. For another, the frame was made from solid wood and was tightly weather sealed. We have gone shy of maintenance today, and those old storm windows did require attention. I am thinking, however, that if one is willing to do the extra work required, storm windows are a valid alternative. Mike

OH, how I used to HATE those two days each year when we had to swap the screens for the "storm windows" (about 15 of them). The storm windows were so big and heavy, and we had to be So-o-o-o careful not to break them (we seemed to break about one per year anyway). The hardware would get bent and not hang right. The wood would get warped and not fit into the window frames. The latches (hooks on the windows, eyebolts on the window frames) would not fit right, have to be hammered or pried into place. What a mess! Stacking and unstacking them on a rafter in the garage (overhead storage) was even more tiring than carrying them all around the perimeter of our large L-shaped one-story ranch house. I was just glad we did not have a second story and have to climb up ladders with them. Cleaning and/or touchup paint on the wood periodicially was a pain also.

I love my 13-year-old house with originally installed, no-maintenance, double-glazed vinyl windows. Never had a lick of problems with them, and they tilt in for cleaning too!

You're absolutely right. The windows and screens did require at least two days of work; and cleaning was much more of a chore than cleaning windows is today. However, removable storm windowns and screens do offer another alternative that can save money if one doesn't mind the added work. Some people don't. As I mentioned in my reply: "they do require attention." In my view "new" doesn't automatically equate with better. Too often - again in my view - in pursuit of the new, we lose sight of and let go of value that has sustained. I have wood planes and cabinet maker's screwdrivers that are nearly 100 years old and which continue to do the more than adequate job they did nearly a century ago. Mike

What needs to be considered here is COST vs PAYBACK ....and based on where you live, you should be figuring out Double Pain vs Triple Pain. Single pain wouldn't be much better than installing a piece of plastic.....not only heating bill saving ,you also need to concider the other benifits to a multi glaze window. Less Noise ,less UV damage to carpet ,drapes,furniture all which will have to be replaced sooner. If higher end units cost you $1000 more but save you $ 100. a year in energy costs payback would be 10 years......after that all you do is save money year after year. As energy prices go up the sooner the payback.

Well I wish it were this simple. At $100 per year saving and 6.5% interest rate it takes almost 17 years for the present value to equal the initial $1000 invested, however, around then your high tech windows will have lost their noble gas fill and the low E coating will be looking a bit tatty and you might be getting internal condensation problems in some, so the savings will be falling away. With the high almost unaffordable cost of housing I'm looking for payback perids more in the five year bracket before I search for a bigger loan. All the responses so far have been from people who are brainwashed by the window salesmen, lets just really sit down and think this one through. For my limited resources, as is the case for all the world, what is the best investment opportunity to stop units of heat (Joules) from flowing out of my house?

stuff newspapers in there .Get real , yes early insulated glass did fail but 20-30- years later they have been perfected .Quit smoking you'll make up for the lost revenue and improve your curculation .