Environment
Did you Know?...
1. Average yearly energy savings made from installing Energy Efficient Windows in a typical UK House is:
£150.49* (Single-Glazed House)
£44.88 (Double-Glazed House)
* Up to £325 saved in an electrically heated house (Typical detached house with a window area of 23.7m²) Timber framed single glazed windows replaced with 'A' rated Energy Efficient Windows
2. Average yearly savings made by converting ALL existing windows to Energy Efficient Windows is:
£2,363 million
3,970,663 tonnes of Carbon
14,559,098 tonnes of C02
3. Energy Efficient Windows would reduce national domestic energy expenditure by 10%.
The GGF has developed a Energy Saving Calculator.
It is a simple tool that allows homeowners to find out how much they can save on their energy bills and by how much they can reduce their carbon footprint through the installation of Energy Efficient Windows. It also tells homeowners how much more they could save by installing the highest rated Energy Efficient Windows (rated 'A') over others levels ('B' to 'G').
The Energy Saving Calculator was developed by the GGF in conjunction with government and the Energy Savings Trust (EST). Its calculations have been verified by the EST.
Energy Saving Calculator
"The environmental impact of carbon dioxide release, energy saving generally and environmentally friendly practices have moved well up the agenda for us all.
For the glazing industry, it has been high on the agenda for many years. Our industry has improved properties (both domestic and commercial) in terms of their aesthetics, their performance and maintenance characteristics and their energy effectiveness for many years.
We have been at the forefront of recycling with glass, framing material, reinforcing and hardware. PVC-U and metals are particularly susceptible to effective recycling while timber has its own unique sustainability characteristics.
However, environmentally friendly practice is a journey, not a destination.
Industry has many challenges now and in the future to do even better and to assist homeowners to meet their environmental needs with more energy efficient products.
I hope that Government recognises what we have done so far and will continue to do and start to incentivise the consumer to install high energy efficient glazing."
Robert Aitken GGF President
The Bigger Picture
Background - Energy Efficient Windows
Consumer Information
GGF Energy Calculator
Project Green Good Glazing Guide
The Bigger Picture
There is increasing pressure on consumers, businesses and Governments to be seen to be reducing their carbon emissions. For example, the UK Government is the first in the world to have a Climate Change Bill that currently aims to reduce greenhouse emissions by 60% by 2050. The Government has also said that the revised Building Regulations mean that a new home built in 2007 is 40% more energy efficient than one built in 2002 and that it proposes to make all new homes in England zero carbon by 2016.
Globally, two major challenges - climate change and the planet's finite resource - may seem too overwhelming for our Members and their customers to do anything about them. However, if more people were to install Energy Efficient Windows, if we recycled more and produced less waste and pollution it could make a significant difference to meeting both challenges within the UK
Background - Energy Efficient Windows
In the 1980s a standard semi detatched house lost around 38% of its heat through single-glazed windows. As the decades have passed, regulations, increased energy costs, development of new technology and the efforts of the industry have improved the energy efficiency of windows.
U-Values
Conventional assessment of the energy efficiency of windows based on the U-value and this system has been used throughout the world. This comprises the heat losses and gains from conduction, convection and radiation arising from all the window components. A window with a lower U-value loses less energy through heat loss. However, U-values do not take solar gain or air leakage into consideration.
Window Energy Ratings
Window Energy Ratings (WERs) were developed in the UK by the British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC a GGF subsidiary company) and launched in 2004. The benefit of this system is that it is easy to understand and allows all users, but particularly consumers, to compare the energy efficiency of different products with ease.
Similar to the domestic appliance rating system, there is the familiar A to E scale on the basis of total energy efficiency, where an A band rated window is more efficient than an E band rated window. To demonstrate the potential of this type of banding scheme, in 1996 there were no A- rated white goods on the market, whereas in 2006 they accounted for over 70% of sales.
The rating assesses the energy performance of the whole window including the frame material, the frame design, the glass type and all other components. Ultimately this means that the ratings are based on the net energy flow through a window and takes into account both the heat loss (U-value and air leakage) and heat gains, including solar heat gain. This gives a more accurate view of the window's overall energy efficiency.
Project Green Good Glazing Guide
This document gathers together all the relevant facts about Energy Efficient Windows, how they can contribute to reducing impact of climate change. It also summarises what the industry is already doing and what the future may hold. Download your copy here.
***Click here to see GGF President's Interview at Launch of Project Green Good Glazing Guide.