The Benefits Of New Double Glazing

The benefits of new double glazing. The availability of double glazing grants is extremely limited at the moment unless you are looking to upgrade from single glazing to double glazing. This would therefore imply that there’s little benefit in upgrading your windows and doors but this may not be the case at all.

There’s and excellent feature on the Energy Efficiency Matters website which is well worth a read and entitled: Energy Efficiency Benefits Of Double Glazing Upgrades. This feature refers to a report from the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) along with British Glass which was published in late 2023 and entitled ‘A Window of Opportunity’. We want to highlight a few of the key findings of this report:

The first set of figures relate to the current energy efficiency of windows and refers to BFRC (British Fenestration Rating Council) window energy ratings

  • 5% of UK properties still have single glazing and are BFRC window energy rated unclassified
  • 23% have double glazing which was installed pre 2002 and are BFRC window energy rated E
  • 70% have double glazing which was installed post 2002 and are BFRC window energy rated C
  • Less than 1% have double glazing which was installed after June 2022 and are BFRC window energy rated B
  • Less than 1% have triple glazing and are hence BFRC window energy rated A++

Building Regulations And Double Glazing

You will note that the key facts above refer to pre and post 2022 – this is when the building regulations changed and the new act stated that any replacement windows put in after April 2002 must conform to certain energy efficiency ratings. Specifically, they must have a minimum energy performance rating of ‘E’.  This meant that all new homes built after this date needed to have double glazing installed which met EPC ratings of the local authority or a minimum of an EPC E rating.

Things have evolved since then and the regs now state that new windows must have a U-value of no more than 1.2 W/m2K and a WER of B or better.

If you’re simply replacing windows it’s not illegal not to conform to the latest regs for new build homes but it does show you just how much things have improved and how much more efficient new double glazing needs to be when compared with any old existing windows your may have. If you’re thinking about upgrading windows that were installed before 2002 then you’re likely to take energy ratings up from an E to a B and, even if you’re only upgrading windows installed after 2002, the chances are that you’re still going to move up from a C to a B. And both those scenarios mean greater energy efficiency and savings on your heating bills.

Benefits Of New Double Glazing – What This Means

Taking into account the statistics above and the changes in building regs this means that:

  • UK homes are the worst in Western Europe for heat loss
  • 98% of windows do not meet current building regulations
  • Some 288 million windows would benefit from being replaced of which
    • 80 million windows in the UK are BFRC rated E or Unclassified and would benefit from immediate replacement
    • These 80 million windows need to be replaced if the UK hopes to meet the government’s net zero targets
    • Replacing these pre-2002 double glazing with new double glazing to current standards equates to taking 1.88 million cars off the road!
  • Replacing older double glazing with new windows that meet current building regs can reduce heat loss by up to 50% – from 44% down to 22%
  • New windows can save homeowners up to £395 per year off their energy bills

So, what this actually means to you as the homeowner is that the benefits of new double glazing could be significant and, doble glazing grants or no double glazing grants, could prove highly cost effective. If your windows were installed pre 2002 you are likely to make the most savings but even if they were installed more recently than this it could still prove worthwhile.

Technology changes, efficiencies improve and that’s going to make your home more energy efficient, save you money and support the environment too. But materials also evolve and styles change too so don’t forget that other benefits of new double glazing include improving the “kerb appeal” of your property, making it easier to sell and adding value to the price of your home.

Well worth looking into we suggest!