Pilkington Spacia™ Glass – Ultra Thin Double Glazing

*This post is in collaboration with Pilkington UK.

Period properties – they’re both fantastic and a bit of a bugger aren’t they? If you have one, you’ll know what I mean. Compared to new builds, they can be a nightmare when it comes to insulating and preventing heat loss. Modern materials often just aren’t suitable for our classic homes and in order to bring them up to date, they have to undergo serious changes. Some of which, can change the whole aesthetic of the property!

Upgrading to double glazing is one of these problems, particularly if you live in a listed building or a building which has its original windows or external doors. Simply taking out single glazing and replacing with double glazing isn’t always an option. Double glazing is incredibly thick, which means there simply may not be enough depth in the timber frame to allow for this thickness.  Double glazing is also heavier and therefore not suitable for some older window frames. This is why so many houses opt for whole new windows rather than just replacing the glass. And of course, windows are a huge source of heat loss, so it’s understandable why nobody wants single glazing anymore. 

However, with modern technology, there is a way to upgrade single glazed windows without replacing the whole window frame! Double glazing which looks like single glazing. It’s called Pilkington Spacia™ Glass.

Pilkington Spacia™ is kinda genius. Unlike traditional double glazing, which consists of two panes of glass with a thick cavity in-between, Pilkington Spacia™ glass comprises two panes of 3 mm thick glass with a vacuum of just 0.2mm making it ultra-slim whilst still providing thermal efficiency equal to low-e double glazing.

By comparison, the total thickness of a normal double-glazed unit would be 24mm thick, and the Pilkington Spacia™ Glass is just 6.2mm. That’s almost a quarter of the thickness! It does the same job as double glazing, whilst being the same thickness as single glazing.

What does this actually mean? It means you can replace single glazing with Pilkington Spacia™ glass, without replacing the entire window or door! It means those original features can be restored and not replaced.

You probably know we’ve been updating the front of our house and have recently fitted new sash windows (sadly we didn’t have the original sashes, or we’d totally have considered this product!), but our front door still leaves a lot to be desired.

In the next year, we plan to replace it with a period Victorian door (yet to be sourced – but keeping an eye out!), ideally with two glazed windows within the door. Our hallway is already incredibly cold in winter thanks to its current single glazing.  So, this would be a great option for us as when it comes to restoring/fitting that future door. We can take something old and update it in a modern way without making drastic changes. We can buy a door that’s original and sympathetic to the aesthetic of our home but give a modern edge.

We also plan on replacing the fanlight (glass above the door) and this would also be PERFECT for that too. The frame is far too thin to take double glazing, but Pilkington Spacia™ would fit like perfection, providing better thermal performance, whilst maintaining authenticity to how it would have originally looked. It also offers better sound insulation, which is an extra bonus if you live on a road, like us!

One of the best things about this glass, I think, is that it can be used in some listed buildings, depending on the local planning authority. If you own one (or know somebody who has one!), you’ll probably know that double-glazing is a no-go. This can make heating a listed building something of a nightmare and a bit of a turn-off for buyers. Pilkington Spacia™ is exactly the solution that would solve this issue.

Compared to single glazing, Pilkington Spacia™ is 4x more efficient, providing a house that would be better insulated and cheaper to run, just by changing the glass. You can find more information on using this glass within a listed building here.

I would love to know what you think about this product. Would you consider this as an upgrade for any of your single glazed windows? Or perhaps, you’ve used Pilkington Spacia™ glass before? I would love to know what you think – leave me a comment below!

*This post is in collaboration with Pilkington UK. All words and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting this blog!