Double glazing: Anyone heard of Planitherm?

dllive

Hi guys,
Im thinking of getting some double glazing. Ive heard of Planitherm glass which is meant to keep more heat in and use the sun's rays to generate more heat. Has anyone else had any experience with planitherm and is it likely to cost more than normal glass?
Thanks

holdenmav

dllive wrote: »

Hi guys,
Im thinking of getting some double glazing. Ive heard of Planitherm glass which is meant to keep more heat in and use the sun's rays to generate more heat. Has anyone else had any experience with planitherm and is it likely to cost more than normal glass?
Thanks

i have used this on a commercial project so not sure what energy saving was involved but it did seem warmer glass than standard. as it comes under a term solar controlled glass, expect the cost to at least double per unit.

Yorkie1

I have planitherm I think in my DG. If I recall correctly, it's similar to Pilkington glass but has less of a tint to it.

WestonDave

Interesting comment anna. There is a trade off here. All the green types will love the fact that this glass keeps heat in and helps capture heat from outside because it has the potential to cut heating use in winter. However that's possibly not so helpful on a hot day in summer. Having lived in a house with a 3 metre wide south facing window (had to be made in 3 sections!) in a 4 meter long lounge, I can tell you that additional solar gain would not always be welcome. It was like an oven in that room at times. If you end up saving on heating in the winter but spending the saving on running air con in the summer there is no environmental benefit.

Is there really that much saving to be gained from the solar gain element, and if so how can that be "turned off" on days when you don't need heat. To put this in perspective I probably use heat for less than half the year, and I would imagine the solar gain on the days when the heating is on is pretty minimal due to the short days and generally poor weather.

greenerthanthou

Hi Dave. I think I can help. I work in the glass industry, and a massive range of glass is available to suit the different requirements of your home.

Planitherm works very effectively in most residential, smaller windows. For a larger south facing window, for example, it would probably be better to go with a solar control glass option as this type of glass helps to reflect heat.

You could potentially combine this by using Planitherm glass on the inside pane. This combination would def help to maintain good energy efficiency levels.

WestonDave

Thanks that's useful to know. The big S facing window was in our last house!

At some point in the current house we've got 17 old UPVC units that are badly fitting (closers don't fit the frame etc) and very draughty to swap out. Quite fancy some aluminium clad timber frames but might have to curb my expensive tastes towards something more economical. Trouble is, as things develop the choices get more and more bewildering!

greenerthanthou

Hi Dave

Good news for ya. Planitherm won't break the bank - it costs about the same as normal glass. It's completely transparent too (i.e. looks the same as normal glass) - it's main competitor K glass, on the other hand, has a bit of a tint to it.

LisaW123

Apparently this is a self cleaning glass. Sounds too good to be true. Does anyone know if it actually works and how much (as a rough %) it would add to the cost of double glazing?