AIBU to think triple glazing is worth the additional cost?

[Thegoldenoriole]

Naturally, all the salesman who offer triple glazing say it’s worth it, all the ones who don’t offer it say it’s not worth it. Hoping for a less biased opinion here!

Important: we live under the Heathrow flightpath and the upstairs south facing bedrooms get very hot in summer, even with the curtains closed. So both noise and heat insulation are important and I’m willing to pay more for a reasonable reduction - but not if it’s really a waste of time.

Our current windows are single glazed with secondary glazing. One option would be triple glazed in the bedrooms and south facing rooms, double glazed in the other rooms. Thoughts on this?

(and before anyone mentions it, sadly we are not eligible for any funding from Heathrow!)

YABU: double glazed is fine
YANBU: go for triple glazing

I've only ever seen it in Nordic countries that regularly suffer extreme cold for months.

Surely to keep heat out Shutters or blinds like used in Southern Europe would be the thing?
Glass magnifies sunlight surely, so more glass = more heat???

Triple glazing is only worth it if you are building a highly insulated, passive-standard home, live in an exceptionally cold or noisy area, or if the price premium is very small. For standard existing homes in moderate climates, modern double glazing offers better value for money

If you live under the Heathrow flightpath and sound insulation is the more important factor, you might want to look at acoustic glazing.
Similar cost to triple.
Acoustic glazing vs triple glazing: Side by side comparison | Homebuilding

Current building regs require trickle vents unless you have other means of ventilation that meet building regs (central MVHR or permanently open wall vents). Central MVHR is unusual so you'll end up with a hole in the wall or a hole in the window frames (through which noise can pass).

On that basis I suspect triple glazing benefit might be limited by those vents allowing noise in.

See this old thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4693456-trickle-vents-noise

I'd ask to see the vents the window company installs before making a decision.

As an aside I've just had windows fitted which all came with trickle vents. My rooms all have wall vents so they didn't need them. But as ever with UK trades if you ask for windows without vents you'll probably get sucking through teeth and told that you are wrong and all windows need vents.

I've just had a salesman talk me out of treble-glazing!

It's a small company and he's the actual installer and also does repair work. He made a face when I asked for treble-glazing and said the additional weight caused problems – IIRC particularly for windows with an opening section.

He'd worked on some Housing Association properties where triple-glazing had been specified and many now had problems.