Story at a glance:
- PGT Innovations and Corning Incorporated collaborate to create a better window, and the result is nothing less than revolutionary.
- The Thin Triple IGU window can help projects become more energy-efficient while being less costly in comparison.
Sometimes less is more. In the case of PGT Innovations’ revolutionary Thin Triple Insulating Glass Unit (IGU), it’s much more.
Comprising two outer panes of traditional glass and a single pane of ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight Corning® Architectural Technical Glass (ATG), it’s proof positive that a minor structural enhancement can make a major difference.
“If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you wouldn’t even know it’s a thin triple,” says Bob Keller, the Florida-based company’s senior vice president of product innovation and technology.
We talked to Keller about the biggest benefits of PGT Innovations’ Thin Triple IGU.
Easier (and Cost Effective) to Manufacture
Photo courtesy of PGT Innovations
The Thin Triple IGU—an easy “drop-in” upgrade for window manufacturers that’s the first product of its kind in the US—requires far less in the way of supporting materials and labor.
“When you go from a standard double pane IGU to a standard triple, everything else has to change around it. Everything gets bigger,” Keller explains. “It all has to be rethought and reconfigured.”
He’s referring to things like new extrusions and balances. Simply put, the bigger the IGU, the more wood, vinyl, or aluminum required to house it. So in addition to more effort and energy being required to acquire and synthesize those raw materials, more of both are needed and expended in the window manufacturing process itself. It’s inefficient and costly. Not so with Thin Triples.
More Energy-Efficient
Photo courtesy of PGT Innovations
For a typical-sized vinyl window in the home, Keller says, the Thin Triple IGU will take the center of glass U-factor down by at least 20%, from 0.25 to less than 0.2. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act provides tax credits for products that meet the most efficient energy standards. The soon-to-be Energy Star 7.0-rated Thin Triple IGU—which will be available soon and well-suited to North and North Central Energy Star zones, plus Canada and California—will do just that, saving both energy and money as a result.
Sustainable and Flexible
Inside the PGT Innovations showroom showing the latest energy-efficient solutions. Photo courtesy of PGT Innovations
A perfect marriage of form and function, PGT Innovations’ Thin Triple IGU has huge implications for the future of sustainability and design.
In collaboration with Corning, PGT Innovations has succeeded in manufacturing very large sizes of glass while also substantially reducing the weight of the finished products. This reduction in weight translates to less fuel consumption during transportation, an easier install process for dealers, and less effort for homeowners to operate their windows and doors.
“Less than 5% of windows sold in the US today are triple pane units, so most window frames are not able to fit a triple-pane unit,” Keller says. “With our Thin Triple IGU technology, most windows will be able to drop in a triple without changing the rest of the window. This will give end customers significantly more options for meeting their higher energy efficient needs.”
His collaborators at Corning wholeheartedly agree. “While many people just see glass, we know the science behind this beautiful technology will continue to make our lives better,” says Thomas Bertin-Mourot, an innovation growth leader and advanced windows program manager at Corning. “And we feel like we’ve already made a giant step in progressing architecture for years to come.”
“We are just beginning to tap into the potential for window glass,” says Bertin-Mourot. “For hundreds of years, windows have connected us with nature’s beauty, while shielding us from the elements. But what else can they do?”
The answer: More than we ever imagined.
