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Fancy A Triple?
Tony Palmer, the head of sales at Edgetech, explores the evolution of triple glazing with thin triples – and how Super Spacer is powering its future.
For years, triple glazing has been held up as the ultimate in thermal performance. With the ability to drastically reduce heat loss, boost comfort and improve acoustic performance, it’s a natural fit for the energy-conscious homes of the future.
Yet despite its proven benefits, widespread adoption in the UK has remained stubbornly slow, due to issues around cost, weight and complexity.
That’s something we at Edgetech and as part of the Quanex Group, have been paying very close attention to for more than a decade.
Conference call
When we hosted the original Triple Glazing Question conference back in 2014, we brought together the whole supply chain to debate whether triple glazing was the answer. At the time, many in the industry argued that cleverly engineered double-glazed units offered similar performance without the manufacturing concerns of triple glazing and lack of availability for units and appropriate profiles.
That argument had merit back then. However, fast forward to today and the conversation has moved on.
Triple jump
Energy regulations are tightening. Consumers are more aware of environmental issues than ever before and window and IGU manufacturers are under increasing pressure to deliver more with less.
Triple glazing is essential to futureproofing window systems against future thermal regulations and consumer demand. Thin triples will bring in a new era of triple glazing, one that solves the problems that held it back in the past, while delivering all the performance it promises.
And right at the heart of this innovation is our flexible warm-edge technology Super Spacer.
From concept to game-changer
Around eighteen months ago, Quanex approached machinery manufacturer Forel, whom we knew had the expertise having worked closely with them on numerous automated lines over the years, to partner on a project to use our Super Spacer to encapsulate a central ultra-thin glass pane within a sealed unit. And do it with the precision, flexibility and structural integrity that the product demands.
The result is a modified Forel High Speed Line, which was launched at Glassbuild 2024 and then presented to the UK market at FIT earlier this year, capable of producing thin triple units with a single outer seal, just like a double-glazed unit, while retaining the superior performance of a traditional triple – and at speeds comparable to the most efficient automated double-glazing production machinery.
Crucially, thin triples can often be used in existing 70mm systems, meaning system companies and fabricators don’t have to make any radical production and factory changes.
Super Spacer
At Edgetech, Super Spacer has always been more than just a component and part of a wider vision; one that sees warm edge technology not just keeping up with industry needs but driving them forward.
It is available in a wide-range of different cavity options, while its precision application method allows for the central pane to be assembled with sub-millimetre accuracy, ensuring structural integrity and thermal performance.
Whether the centre pane is 1mm or 1.5mm we can provide a spacer which is fit for purpose with no restrictions
A new chapter
After hosting a roundtable debate on triple glazing in 2023, where the UK glass sector was ready for a shift to triple glazing, we were all set to host a second Triple Glazing Question event last year, particularly in light of the then-expected Future Homes Standard. Many of us anticipated the new standard would be a call to arms for higher-performance glazing to help improve the thermal efficiency of the substandard British housing stock.
Unfortunately, glazing was largely left out of the proposals, which instead focused on things such as solar panels and heat pumps. We postponed the event. Yet that doesn’t change the direction of travel. The need for more efficient sustainable building practises isn't going to go away, while demand for higher-performing, energy-efficient windows is only going to grow. Thin triples, powered by Super Spacer, are a solution that’s ready today. The first UK thin triple line is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. We believe that will mark the beginning of something big. Thin triples are where we see the industry heading and we will be leading the way.
Picture: Triple glazing has evolved with thin triples.
www.edgetechig.co.uk
Article written by Brian Shillibeer
23rd November 2025