Double Or Triple Pane Window Light/Noise

[jsmith111]

Live close to a road, based on my house the installer said if I have a concern about noise the triple pane would do better than the double pane with the sound deadening (dissimilar?) glass.

It pushes the windows from 800 to 1000. I am doing a whole home remodel and want to get what is best and not stick with just the cheaper option because it is cheap. But I am concerned about the reduction in light transmission.
The cost difference also gets me:
Recessed cam-action locks
Heavy duty foam filled frames
Super Spacer® warm-edge tech
Rounded and miter-cut interior glazing strips
Upgraded balance system covers
Decorative exterior molding
Low-profile top & bottom sash

Should I upgrade and live with less natural light? Or since I am coming from wood frame single pane windows will I be fine with the double pane?

[WindowsDirectCinci]

There is a rating for sound transmission called STC... ask for the STC numbers. In the product I offer the dual pane with dissimilar glass test significantly higher than triple pane. It may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but the numbers should tell the story.

[Oberon]

First off, a triple pane window with a U factor of .3 is....unacceptable (I was going to say something more dramatic but decided to leave it at "unacceptable"). Since I couldn't find either window on the NFRC website, despite having the CPD numbers available, I am basing my reply on windows with the closest performance values that were on the website.

Your installer is wrong when he says that triple pane is your best option for sound performance. It isn't - re. WDC earlier reply. While triple pane MIGHT improve sound performance over a comparable dual pane, even one with dissimilar glass thicknesses, that isn't going to happen when looking at the two windows that you are comparing.

There are two requirements needed in order for a triple pane window to outperform a dual pane in sound performance:
First, the combined depth of the two airspaces created by the triple pane must exceed the width of the single airspace of the dual, i.e. two times 1/2" airspace for the triple, versus single 3/4" airspace for the dual and the triple should have better sound performance, all else being equal.
Second, the combined airspaces from the triple must at minimum be at least 1"... wider would be even better.

For a comparable-performance triple in the same family (CPD NTW-A-18), the units that I saw on the NFRC website had dual airspaces of 1/4", which is terrible for energy performance (re. dual actually has better performance in the comparison you listed), and worse for sound performance. In fact, a 1/4" airspace in a dual pane can actually increase the level of sound coming through a window at some frequencies versus a single lite of the same glass thickness. For sound performance wider is better, and 1/4" is again not....acceptable.

A dual pane with dissimilar glass and a 1/2 airspace will have much better sound blocking performance than the triple that you listed for your example.

However, also keep in mind that how tight the window is, or how well it blocks air from passing through is paramount -- A leaky window is a noisy window.

[Windows on Washington]

+1

I've often said that and it's overlooked. A leaky window will be a noisy window. The dynamic aspect of performance and sound attenuation is not discussed and it should be.