Wood-aluminum windows, what to pay attention to

Contrary to popular belief, triple standard glazed windows nowadays have a worse dB rating than old double glazed windows.

Although this may be true in some cases, I am curious about the explanation on what basis you generalize this.

I pulled out the data sheets of our window construction and those from my friend who has double glazing ... and there were a few dB differences ....

I pulled out the datasheets of our window assembly and those of my buddy who has double glazing

Apart from the fact that for both sound and thermal insulation the entire window must be considered and not just glass and frame separately,

... and there were a few dB differences ....

I already thought you were generalizing from a single case. In practice, however, both double- and triple-glazed windows are not inherently better or worse, and both have their justification. They are simply two ways to Rome, meaning the justification is neither in price/performance (as many homeowners believe, like two panes = tourist / economy and three panes = business / VIP), nor in the fact that one would be better for thermal and the other for sound insulation. Rather, one must "individually" – without the number of panes being a category/class! – look at the respective product specifically.

By the way: the "in-between" is part of the assembly, so I also like to speak of single or double cavities instead of two or three panes.

"As many builders believe, like two panes = Tourist / Economy and three panes = Business / VIP, that one would be better in terms of heat and the other in terms of sound insulation. Rather, one must look at the respective product "individually" – that is, without the number of panes representing a category/class!"

That is also a generalized statement. And it is not just like that in our individual case. I have noticed that if you go to five different window sellers or dealers or manufacturers and simply ask for plastic windows for a single-family house in the countryside, you get offered our windows. And that is precisely the mistake and thus my warning. Our windows are great in terms of the frame; the panes are the weak point. Yes, there are soundproof windows, but I am not even talking about those; I am talking about completely ordinary windows. If you don’t ask for anything special regarding requirements, nowadays you get these 32dB windows. I’ll make a comparison: in the past, if you ordered a car, air conditioning was not installed as standard. If you go to a configurator today, air conditioning is already selected by default. As a buyer, you don’t have to worry about whether it is hot in your region or not; the air conditioning just always comes with it. You neither have to inform yourself nor express any special wishes. It’s the same with windows, but the other way around. You order completely normal windows and you get 32 dB. In the past, you got completely normal double-glazed windows, and those probably had a better dB value by default, I dare say. And since the layman thinks that triple glazing is the vacuum insulation panel in everything, I always point this out here. Because 32 dB is a joke.

You order completely normal windows and you get 32 dB. In the past, you used to get completely normal double-glazed windows and they had, I dare say, a better dB value by default.

Exactly, I said nothing else: no matter how many panes there are, you always have to look at the specific values and also consider the entire window. In the "past" when double glazing was "normal," we still had a Kaiser ... uh ... I mean of course Kohl. "Normal" has been for about twenty years now that although double glazing is by no means "state of the art" anymore, the higher-end consumer only perceives triple glazing as contemporary, and the double-glazed window is practically regarded as a budget frame. More is gladly seen as better; even seven or six chambers sell better than five or, with approximate price equality, are gladly the deciding factor.

If you don't ask for any special requirements nowadays you get these 32db windows.

That's nonsense. Have you actually looked at the values from different manufacturers? I happen to have the values here for my standard Veka Softline 82 MD windows. Triple glazing 4/12/4/12/4 = 36 dB Triple glazing 4/16/4/16/4 = 36 dB Of course, there are also other values related to different noise sources (C, Ctr), and the type of installation and installation materials also have a huge impact on the noise level that reaches the room. Based on the pure laboratory values, you probably won't get a window nowadays that only has 32dB. They all actually start at at least 34dB. Basically, it can be said that triple glazing with 16 mm spacing has better insulation values than double glazing. That's physics and cannot be argued away (about 2dB in the lab).