Product category:
Glass
News Release from: Pilkington Building Products UK | Subject: A-rated window
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 April 2007
A ratings success for energy saving
windows
Window and door supplier, aluplast, has teamed up with Pilkington to develop the first cost-effective A-rated window.
Window and door supplier, aluplast, has teamed up with the UK's leading glazing manufacturer, Pilkington, to develop the first cost-effective A-rated window The innovative design utilises normal double-glazing with argon-filling and processing-friendly Pilkington K Glass
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 13 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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AG Glass of Barnsley supplies the units, which are constructed using Pilkington K Glass, Pilkington Optiwhite, an Edgetech Superspacer, and filled with argon gas.
The profiles are supplied by aluplast (IDEAL 70) and fabricator, Rapid Frame, markets the windows.
The complete system sets a new benchmark for accessible energy efficient glazing and lays down a challenge for other profilers to meet.
Andy McDowell, Float and Coated Products Manager, Pilkington Building Products UK, said: "In general, it is encouraging to see so many within the sector using innovation to achieve higher ratings.
This illustrates the industry's growing commitment to Window Energy Ratings (WERs) as not just a legislative compliance tool, but as a means of differentiating products and achieving competitive advantage.
"However, there are still challenges ahead.
In the main, A-rated windows still come at a high price so volume sales are non-existent as triple-glazing and/or krypton filling add unrecoverable costs to the final window.
More cost-effective double glazed options, utilising argon gas filling, like this one, are in the pipeline, so it is unlikely that triple-glazing or krypton filling will be a practical solution going forward".
When it comes to the top ratings, cost-effectiveness and accessibility are key, as are the further development of glazing unit components and profiles.
The use of Pilkington Optiwhite low iron glass as the outer pane will also achieve simple and economical improvement in WERs.
Andy concluded: "The C-rating is the perceived standard rating but this represents a significant performance difference over the majority of windows sold, which are mainly E and D-rated.
C-rated windows also represent a cost difference so the opportunity to up-sell these higher rated windows to home owners as premium products should be taken to avoid further squeezing margins.
This is why effort is now needed to realise the commercial potential of C-rated windows and the benefits of the additional endorsement from the Energy Saving Trust and their Energy Saving Recommended logo.".
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