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Also known as sidelights, side panels are glazed fixed window-like elements encased by frames located to the side of front doors. Highly effective at brightening hallways and adding style to entrances, side panels are a must-have extra to enhance design. Despite their generous surfaces, impressive functional performance can be relied upon too thanks to our quality door glazing with its purpose-designed features for insulation, break-in protection, and privacy.
Configure nowModern glass sidelights can add to building design in a variety of ways. A single panel can be placed to the left of the composite door, for example, and create a welcoming entrance space.
The panel can also be placed to the right, however, which can be ideal for composite doors with a right-aligned glass insert built into the main door sash. For those after an increased supply of natural light, adding two side panels, one on either side of the composite door, is a further option.
This can be ideal for symmetrical building styles and reduces the need for electric lights in hallways, which can lead to utility bill savings. For all combinations, customers can also select a fanlight or top panel. This will be located above the door and any sidelights it may have.
A combination of fanlights and sidelights surrounding a fully glazed door, or model with glass inserts, will provide interiors with a maximum amount of light and make the entrance space appear larger and more welcoming.
At windows24.com, there are three core sash materials for front doors – wood, uPVC, and aluminium.
Doors can be made entirely from one of these materials or be composite models featuring a glazed surface, panel, or glass inserts surrounded by one of the materials.
No material is necessarily better than another, rather each come with their own unique benefits – while modern uPVC is energy-efficient and particularly affordable, wood brings bespoke patterns, whereas aluminium doors boast an impressive durability. Materials are an important topic when it comes to side panels because the material of the frame surrounding them will match that of the composite door. Durable RAL colours or decors selected for the door will also be used for the side panel's frame as this ensures a neat, unified entrance.
Adding extra glass elements to composite front doors can sometimes lead to concerns surrounding insulation, break-in protection, and privacy. With our purpose-designed glazing options, these issues are addressed head on, and excellent performance is guaranteed.
In terms of ensuring good thermal efficiency, depending on the door material, model, and profile selected, various options are available. Many of our basic composite doors come with double-glazed side panels, for example.
This means that the glass contains two panes rather than just one. The space between the panes is also commonly filled with a safe sealed noble gas, such as argon. These features all contribute to a thicker surface and reduced energy loss via conduction through sidelights.
Side panels that do not feature double glazing, can come with a triple-glazed surface. This glass is thicker and more energy-efficient than double glazing as it features three panes instead of two, which further reduces energy loss through the external door.
Whether double or triple-glazed, side panel glass can feature additional layers and be specially treated during manufacturing to increase impact resistance and security. The glazing can be heated and rapidly cooled in a tempering process, for example, or invisible PVB foil interlayers can be added between panes.
The foil makes the glass harder to smash and means that, if side panels are broken due to high force, the glazing will first remain held in place on the intact foil rather than shattering out.
Composite doors with large side panels and generous amounts of glazing are ideal for supplying interiors with much natural light but reduced privacy can be a downside of this. Our ornamental door surface finishes provide an ideal solution here.
From frosted options to interesting patterns, the view inside is reduced for onlookers while entry of light and clear visibility out is retained.
At windows24.com we specialise in made-to-measure products, and composite doors with side panels are no exception. Depending on the material, different minimum and maximum heights and widths are available for the central door sash.
These are clearly displayed in our user-friendly configurator and feature interactive boxes where customers can input their desired dimensions. To ensure good security and installation, please follow our step-by-step measuring guide to order correctly fitting composite doors and sidelights.
Adding side panels, or a sidelight to the door will increase the total possible entrance width.
How this width will be proportionally split between the central sash and its side panels can also be determined in the configurator.
This gives customers wide scope to tailor products to suit individual requirements or the style of the house.
Composite doors with glass sidelights are available with a premium range of additional customisable options. Different handles can be selected, for example, that come in a variety of makes and colours to match the style of the door.
For composite doors with a glazed sidelight, break-in protection can also be enhanced as customers can select the number of locking points or even opt for a fingerprint opening option for certain door models.
Our composite doors with side panels can be used for building projects requiring a new front door, but they can also suit renovations where an existing front door is being replaced. Because our doors are bespoke, the cost of composite doors with sidelights will vary depending on selections made in the configurator. As composite options and side panels are chosen or removed, a live quotation will be shown to the left of the screen.
