The Government wants all existing homes in the UK to be worked on to reduce their collective carbon footprint. They want home owners to carry out work, be it through the normal channels or some sort of scheme, so that they make their properties more efficient, and to lower their energy bills too. But we don’t really know how much new windows and doors will actually save. All the reports say different things, and in reality it’s not an exact science. My best guess is it lies somewhere between £200-£400 per year depending on energy habits and the size of house.

But what if all the homes in the UK had energy efficient windows and doors fitted? How much would all of those new windows save the country on energy loss. Well, thanks to a report from National Energy Foundation Glazing Supply Chain Group, we now know!

8.7%

Yep, that’s it. If every home in the UK had energy efficient glazing installed and controlled summer heat a bit better, the UK would cut energy loss by 8.7%. Although it might not seem that much, if you cut 8.7% off your energy bills, I don’t think many would be complaining.

Here is a larger snippet from the report, as first published by Pilkington’s technical oracle (not real title) Phil Brown on LinkedIn:

 

8.7% of the overall energy used in UK homes can be saved if energy efficient glazing is installed and solar energy in summer is better controlled.

This is the finding from ‘Glazing in buildings – reducing energy use’, a report issued by the National Energy Foundation Glazing Supply Chain Group.

In energy and CO2 terms, the 8.7% headline figure equates to 48,625 GWh/year and 8.7 Mt CO2/year.  This is approximately 5 times the total electrical energy generated in a year by the Sizewell B nuclear power station.

For non-domestic buildings, the corresponding figures are 6.8% and 22,017 GWh/year of energy saved if energy efficient glazing is installed.

 

When you read that, that 8.7% figure starts to look even bigger.

But a report like this does high light the importance energy efficient glazing has within the wider home improvements and green sectors. When people think about energy efficient measures, attention immediately turns to loft and cavity wall insulation, boilers and solar panels. For a number of reasons, windows and doors sit lower down on that list than they really should.

Encourage long term investment

I know why new windows and doors sit lower down the list. When it comes to cost, other than perhaps solar panels, windows cost the most. Making them a measure that cannot always be done quickly. Boilers and new insulation are a relatively quick fix and done at a much lesser cost than a house full of new windows.

But the benefits of new windows and doors, and not just on the energy efficiency front, should be being talked up, with home owners encouraged to look at new windows and doors as a good, long term investment for themselves and their property.

A saving of £200-£400 per year on energy bills in reality will mean it will take many years for new windows to pay for themselves. So lets be realistic and honest with home owners, they’re not going to get their money back all that quickly. But the other benefits of comfort, lower maintenance, better aesthetics and better security still make new windows and doors a quality investment for the home, as well as helping the UK to save on it’s energy foot print!

Who are the Glazing Supply Chain Group?

The Glazing Supply Chain Group was formed in April 2015 by the following Glass and Glazing Industry trade bodies.

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF)
British Glass (BG)
The Flat Glass Manufacturers Association (FGMA)
The Steel Window Association (SWA)
Council for Aluminium in Building (CAB)
European Window Film Association (EWFA)

The Group’s objectives are:

  • To represent the supply chain in the glazing industry and act as the collective “voice of the industry” to Government (local, national and European) and related organisations post and pre-election 2015.
  • To promote the benefits of energy efficient glass and glazing and highlight the environmental advantages to key Government departments.
  • To increase awareness of the Group in the construction industry and in the political arenas.
  • To increase the size of the Group and involve (unite) more trade bodies who share the Group’s core messages and who will endorse the Group’s activities for the good/benefit of the industry.
  • To maintain a non-commercial, independent, clear and progressive messages on behalf of the Glazing Supply Chain.

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