The three-pane glass and IR filter were definitely not of dubious value.
The windows have a U value that's significant lower than what the old would be due to the three-pane glass. The lack of cold flowing compared to the old windows was very noticeable as we got them mounted during the winter, so had an almost direct comparison. This winter we had a week below -25C and even then it was hardly any noticeable "cold shower".
The IR filter was incredibly noticeable when opening the porch door on a bright and sunny day when outside temps were roughly same as inside temps, holding one hand behind the main window and one in the door opening in direct sunlight. The difference in radiant heat from the sun on each hand was striking. It was also very noticeable on the living room floor during summer if the porch door was left open for a while, standing with one foot on a patch lit by the window and the other on a patch lit by direct sunlight. Though it wasn't unexpected given the blackbody radiation from the sun[1].
The additional sound proofing I'll agree on though. It wasn't that significant on paper, IIRC listed as 5-6 dB reduction, maybe less.
But we had waited and bought them during a 50% off campaign which included the extra options, so we went for it as it didn't add that much after the 50% reduction and my SO is really affected by noise.
The windows have a U value that's significant lower than what the old would be due to the three-pane glass. The lack of cold flowing compared to the old windows was very noticeable as we got them mounted during the winter, so had an almost direct comparison. This winter we had a week below -25C and even then it was hardly any noticeable "cold shower".
The IR filter was incredibly noticeable when opening the porch door on a bright and sunny day when outside temps were roughly same as inside temps, holding one hand behind the main window and one in the door opening in direct sunlight. The difference in radiant heat from the sun on each hand was striking. It was also very noticeable on the living room floor during summer if the porch door was left open for a while, standing with one foot on a patch lit by the window and the other on a patch lit by direct sunlight. Though it wasn't unexpected given the blackbody radiation from the sun[1].
The additional sound proofing I'll agree on though. It wasn't that significant on paper, IIRC listed as 5-6 dB reduction, maybe less.
But we had waited and bought them during a 50% off campaign which included the extra options, so we went for it as it didn't add that much after the 50% reduction and my SO is really affected by noise.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight#Composition_and_power