30
DECEMBER 2013 PRO INSTALLER
PRO PRODUCTS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
‘TRIPLE-SHOT?’
Outside of passivhaus-type high end developments and energy-focussed new
build, triple glazing has secured only limited traction. Clearview reports…
Triple-glazing was to
be the new ‘big thing’.
Glass and spacer manufacturers extolled its
benefits to the end user
and its sales potential to fabricators and
installers. But while
not ‘out’, triple-glazing
sales have remained
‘down’ - at the very
least on the forecasts
– delivering only a
minimal dent on double-glazed sales.
So does this make triple-glazing something of a
white elephant? Well not if
you use to deliver a much
wider energy efficiency
message, argues Mike
Crewdson, Sales and Marketing Director, Emplas.
As one of the UK’s leading
fabricators Emplas, by definition, offers a triple-glazed
option. This features a unit
manufactured in Pilkington
Optiwhite ‘E’ (outer pane),
an argon or krypton gas
filling and Pilkington K
Glass ‘OW’ (toughened middle and inner pane), plus
spacer bar with warm edge
option to achieve a suitably
impressive installed 0.8W/
m².K. U-value.
“We offer a triple-glazed
unit and frame because we
don’t ever want any of our
customers to miss out on a
job because we can’t supply
them. But is triple glazing
currently a main stay of our
business? Absolutely not”,
he says.
“If you’re selling a triple-glazed frame you have
to sell it at additional cost,
there is extra glass, an extra
spacer bar, the middle pane
is toughened and not least
extra weight in transport
and in installation.
“For the majority of homeowners, other than those
with a specific interest in
the environment, that additional outlay and also the
trade off against loss of light
and solar gain, doesn’t add
up - Triple-glazing simply
hasn’t had the impact in the
retail sector.”
Crewdson argues that in
the new build and commercial sectors, where
developers are under
pressure to deliver Code for
Sustainable Homes Level
4, 5 and 6 properties, the
appeal of triple-glazing may
be greater. “Even here”, he
adds, “because the energy
performance of the building is taken as a whole it’s
probably more cost effective
for developers to bump up
the specification of wall
and roof insulation, than it
is to specify triple glazed
windows and doors.”
But while Crewdson’s assessment of triple-glazing is
‘grounded’ to say the least,
this doesn’t mean that he
fails to see potential in it.
By contrast, he argues that
it has significant value as a
sales platform, particularly
in the retail sector, ironically
the market where to date, it
has failed to make a meaningful impact.
“Forget the product, it’s the
message that it [triple-glazing]
allows us to deliver as an
industry, which is of biggest
advantage”, says Crewdson,
pointing to the second time
replacement market.
Crewdson continues: “The
majority of windows we
now replace as an industry
are already double-glazed.
So aside from aesthetics,
how do you convey the
benefits of a new generation
of double-glazed windows
to the homeowner? The
answer is that you do it
through triple-glazing.”
He argues that despite the
lengths the BFRC has gone
to convey the benefits of
new windows to homeowners through the Window
Energy Ratings Scheme, the
retail message can sometimes be lost. But throw an
extra pane of glass into the
equation and you have an
immediate and very tangible
point of differentiation.
“The second time replacement market is challenging”
says Crewdson. “I’m going
to show my age but back
in the day it was a comparatively simple proposition
to argue that two panes of
glass were better than one.
But how do you convey that
to Mrs Jones that new windows will make her home
far warmer and more secure
when she already has double-glazing?
“Of course we know that
low iron argon filled units
will perform much better
and that multi-point locking
mechanisms will make
her property more secure
but how do you explain it
effectively? The answer is
triple-glazing.
“If she’s prepared to pay
a premium for triple-glazed
products then great but if
not, once you’re talki