Fineo Glass vs. LandVac

As energy bills remain incredibly high, thermal efficiency has never been so important. Under the 2022 UK building regulations, windows in new homes need to achieve an unprecedented level of thermal efficiency with a U-Value of 1.2W/m²K or lower. Existing homes looking to replace their windows must achieve 1.6W/m²K or less to achieve energy efficiency targets too. In both cases, future plans from the government suggest that this figure could be even lower in the next few years.

Meeting regulations without diminishing the quality of the internal environment can seem like an impossible task. Thankfully two market leading products have emerged, each offering a viable solution to meet and exceed these targets: Fineo Glass and LandVac.

What is Vacuum Glazing?

In double glazing two panes of glass are separated by a small gap filled with air, argon or krypton. The gas trapped between the panes insulates and makes it more difficult for heat to escape.

Double glazing has been the go-to solution for many years, however due to the way that it’s made it gradually loses some of its U-Value over the course of its life as the gases within can leak out. Triple glazing offers an improvement in thermal efficiency over double glazing, but it also loses U-Value over time. Additionally, triple glazing can have a noticeable impact on the amount of natural light that can enter into a building reducing it by up to 40% in some instances.

Vacuum glazing has the two panes of glass, but replaces the gas filled gap with a complete vacuum. This vacuum leads to improved insulation and can achieve brilliant results with an even smaller cavity than double glazing.

Fineo vs LandVac: Thermal Performance

By significantly reducing heat transfer Fineo Glass offers an impressive U-Value of 0.7W/m²K. To put this figure in perspective, that’s 8 times more efficient than the average single glazed unit. By comparison, LandVac can achieve an even greater U-Value of 0.5W/m²K which is more than 10 times as efficient as a single glazed unit.

Both products outperform double and triple glazing with a slight edge given towards LandVac’s increased thermal insulation and overall energy efficiency. These products both exceed regulations by a significant margin and will even be suitable for 2025’s anticipated new building regulation target of 0.8W/m²K or lower. This is also one of the current requirements for achieving Passivhaus standards which will be essential as properties strive towards net zero.

Fineo vs LandVac: Noise Reduction

With a noise reduction of 35dB, Fineo sits alongside double and triple glazing in terms of its noise reduction, slightly better than a single pane which has an average noise reduction of 29dB. LandVac on the other hand can manage a noise reduction of up to 41dB when using LandVac Optimum glazing, slightly edging out the reduction provided by Fineo.

While both offer admirable noise reduction, both fall short of secondary glazing which can reduce noise by up to 54dB. The good news is that both Fineo and LandVac are available as options for secondary glazing, allowing for all the benefits of their enhanced thermal performance while combining this with the unmatched acoustic benefits of secondary glazing.

Fineo vs LandVac: Visibility

LandVac’s current design features a visible evacuation port which is where the air is drawn out as well as a visible getter which absorbs the outgassing of air molecules from the glass in order to maintain the vacuum. Both of these features are tucked away in the corner and can be mostly hidden within the rebate of the frame. To keep the LandVac panes separate, sturdy and durable, there are grey dots called micro-spacers. There are 267 of these micro-spacers per square metre and they are practically invisible unless standing right next to the window.

On the other hand, Fineo’s evacuation port and getters are completely invisible, ensuring maximum sightlines regardless of the rebate of the frame. Keeping the panes separate are a significantly larger number of micro-spacers with 2,774 dots per square metre. Even when standing next to the window these should be effectively invisible and should provide slightly better light transmission than double glazing. These dots also provide Fineo with increased durability and improved structural integrity.

Fineo vs LandVac: Expected Lifespan

Regardless of your choice in vacuum glazing, both LandVac and Fineo offer a 15 year guarantee and have an expected lifespan of 25 years; a 5 year improvement on the average double glazed unit. Fineo has options for toughened glass for an additional cost while LandVac’s offerings all come toughened as standard.

Currently both have a similar cost for their standard versions, but Fineo may be slightly more expensive if your project opts for the more durable version.