Is This Hybrid The Future For The Window Industry?

Fensterbau was held last week in Nuremberg , Germany. As if you needed reminding. I was unlucky to miss out on attending this year. Too busy with other things back here. However, I did enjoy seeing some of the tweets from attendees, especially the ones with new products being shown off.

There were quite a few, but there was one that really stood out for me…

This PVCu/ali hybrid:

Credit: Purplex

This is a hybrid of PVCu inside and aluminium outside. With this, home owners would get the look and aesthetics of aluminium externally, and the benefits of PVCu internally.

Now, hybrid windows aren’t exactly new to the industry. This isn’t the first time I have seen a PVCu/Ali hybrid window. However, the fact that it keeps popping up at events like this give us a clue as to the direction the window industry is headed in.

The future?

I have written in the past about both PVCu and aluminium windows both perhaps having a glass ceiling in terms of their individual development. But, the key to furthering both products is to perhaps combine the two, take their best bits, and produce a new product niche.

The aluminium look in the residential sector is certainly becoming more popular. The low maintenance benefits of PVCu will always remain, and it’s fair to say the look of PVCu products have come a long way in recent years. So why not combine the two and give the home owner the best of both worlds?

I don’t yet know who manufactures the product featured in the image above. Nor do I know the costs involved with such a product. But, if it can be made at a reasonable, affordable cost, then I do believe that this could be a genuine way forward to create a new niche in what is a very mature, crowded market.

Could a hybrid window succeed in UK market that is very quickly becoming overrun with new products? Is it necessary at all? Is there more mileage in pure PVCu and ali products? These are all questions that need answers before installers should start to consider a product like this.

Subjectively though, I like this.