Save money on heating bills with 3-layer glass
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If you are renovating your home, you can now buy windows with Energy Label A glass.
With the latest building regulations, new and higher energy requirements have been introduced. New windows must have a U-value of no more than 1.2 W/m².K and a Window Energy Rating (WER) of B or better. Therefore, you should choose windows with 2 or even 3-layer glass from Klar that have energy label A.
The optimal energy-efficient solution
When you choose 3-layer glass in your new windows and doors, it benefits your heat consumption, your wallet in the long run, and your climate footprint.
With triple glazing, more heat stays inside your home and less heat escapes. In that way you won't need to heat up as much, which saves you money both in the short and the long run.
A quick overview over the most important changes to the building regulations in 2022:
The latest changes to the Approved documents B,F, L & O came into effect on 15th June 2022
Part B - Fire Safety: For upper floor (4.5 meters from ground level) escape windows have to be installed unless they directly connect to a protected fire route, and any habitable rooms that are not directly connected to a hall that leads to an exit door must have a window or door for means of escape
To ensure the means of escape, the window must have a unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33m2 and a minimum of 450mm high and wide
Part F - Ventilation: Habitable rooms and kitchens require 8,000mm2 EA (equivalent area= a measurement of the airflow performance of a vent), while bathrooms require 4,000mm2 EA in multi-story houses. Single-story homes differ in that the usable rooms and kitchens require 10,000mm2 EA, while the bathrooms require 4,000mm2 EA.
Part L - Conservation of fuel and power: the limiting standard for the U-Value of windows changes from 2.0W/m2K to 1.4W/m2K.
Part O - Overheating: new build homes must make reasonable provisions to limit unwanted solar gains in summer and remove excess heat from the indoor environment. Different glazing options such as solar control glazing can offer a way to limit the solar gain.
You can keep your existing windows and replace them when the time comes. Check out our checklist and find out if it's time to replace them.
3-layer glass is a great solution for your home's indoor climate
Are you happy and satisfied with your 2-layer glass? Then there's no problem keeping them. However, there's money to be saved by replacing them with triple glazing. Changing windows alone can increase your home's energy efficiency. It makes a big difference to your home's overall energy consumption, which is especially noticeable during the cold months.
Is your home often draughty? Even when the windows and doors are closed? Then it might be a good idea to consider optimizing your home.
With new windows, you avoid drafts through the frame or between the moldings, and you get consistent warmth throughout your home and also avoid foggy windows.
However, it's also important to ensure a good indoor climate when climate optimizing. Old homes can ventilate themselves- an energy-optimized home cannot. Although automatic ventilation sounds smart in theory, it's not really useful when you have no control over it. You should therefore also think more about indoor climate when you're energy optimizing.
If you live in a place with a lot of traffic noise, 3-layer windows can also help improve sound insulation. If it's really severe, you can opt for acoustic glass when choosing your windows.
The advantages of choosing energy A 3-layer windows:
Lower heat loss and better energy efficiency
Save money on heating bills
Get a smarter home where you only use the energy you need
Combat foggy indoor windows and thermal bridges
Effective insulation that keeps you comfortable on cold winter days and warm nights
Your home can go up a level in energy rating, which means it can be sold at a more favorable price
How much you can save on heating bills
It can be difficult to understand how much you'll actually save on your heating bill by switching to triple glazing. You know your energy consumption will be lower, but how much does it really mean in numbers?
We give you can overview in our guide. As savings can vary depending on the type of heating you use, we have calcualted for district heating, oil, electricity and gas.
Choose the right type of glass for your 3-layer windows
You may want to consider different types of glass depending on which way the facade of your home faces. If the facade faces a noisy road, a kindergarden or similar, you may want to choose acoustic glass.
On north, west- and eastfacing facades, you can choose solar control glass becuase it can create a more comfortable indoor climate all year round. It reduces the cost of heating your home in the winter and can cool the room down faster during the summer.
On south-facing facades, where it's crucial to let in as much light and heat as possible, consider clear glass.
If the windows in your house are tight and in good condition, you can also choose to improve energy efficiency by replacing older double glazing with new energy-efficient double glazing:
An old-fashioned double glazing has a U-Value of around 3.
A newer 2-layer energy double glazing has U-Value of 1.1.
A 3-layer window from Klar has a U-Value of 0.79, which is among the lowest levels on the market when it comes to insulation performance.
If you wish to make a positive difference to your heating bill, 3-layer windows are a good place to start.
Especially in large fixed windows that go from floor to ceiling, you can choose a 3-layer energy window for better insulation.
The same applies if you live next to a noisy environment such as a busy road, a train track, close to an airport or live in an industrial area.
One of the advantages of a 3-layer window is that it also reduces noise because the glasses have different thicknesses and the distance between them is different.
The best noise reduction is achieved by combining 3-layer glass with noise-reducing glass that has been treated in such a way that the window reduces up to 34 (-2;-6) dB.
Do you need guidance?
There are many different types of windows to choose from, each with their own characteristics. Here you need to consider both functionality and what will look best for your home.
We have created a checklist to make it easier for you to choose the right windows to complete your home. You can always get guidance from the customer service if you have any questions.
