What is the payback on energy efficient windows and doors?

High Security Windows & Doors

What is the payback on energy efficient windows and doors?

Craig Smith, Director Coppefield Windows, explains how new energy efficient windows and doors could pay for themselves in just a few years.

For most of us new energy efficient windows and doors represent a significant purchase. Where they differ is that over their lifetime, energy efficient windows and doors can pay for themselves by reducing the cost of heating your home.

This is why new windows and doors were featured alongside wall insulation and new boilers in the Green Deal. The Government drew up a list of energy efficiency measures that would help homeowners reduce bills and offered them loans to get the work done, paid back through savings on their heating bills.

Too good to be true? Well yes and no! The Green Deal flopped because of a mixture of politics and governmental bureaucracy but the principles were right and that’s the important bit.

Energy efficient windows and doors, like cavity wall and loft  insulation, will pay for themselves over their lifetime in savings on energy bills – they’ll also make your home more secure and can help to define the character of your property.

How much will energy efficient windows and doors save me on my heating bills?

This is not quite a million dollar question but savings can add up to their thousands over the lifetime of new energy saving windows and doors.

The savings you make will be defined by the specification of windows and doors that you choose and the price of energy at any given time. This second point is clearly variable but trend analysis suggests that it remains on an upward trajectory.

Should I choose double or triple-glazed windows?

This raises another question, should you choose double or triple-glazed windows and doors? There’s no question about it – energy saving triple glazed windows and doors perform better than energy saving double-glazed windows and doors. They’ll achieve U-values (the measure of heat loss) as low as 0.8W/m².K compared to round 1.2W/m².K on the best double glazed windows.

But – and there is a ‘but’ – they are more expensive. They use a third more glass and are heavier and therefore more complicated to manufacture and to fit.  This means that payback, although ultimately saving more energy, will be longer.

At 1.2W/m².K or Window Energy Rated A⁺ rating, you’re getting a highly energy efficient window but without the premium price paid for triple-glazing.

Energy efficient double glazed windows and doors, deliver great performance and unless you’re working on a Grand Designs-type or Passivhaus project with floor to ceiling glazing, will do the job and more. We work with our customers to model heat loss and to develop a solution that’s right for their individual requirements and the construct of their property.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to email me on admin.copperfield@btconnect.com  or call a member of our team on 02476 452688