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In the modern world nearly everyone has concerns and issues with climate change, global warming or whatever label, the causes or at least various peoples opinion vary, however there it one thing we can alll help with, lowering out carbon footprint and using less energy, helps the enviroment and why not it can SAVE us MONEY.
People purport to do this and then use companies who come from tens and even hundreds of miles away to do work for them, so first think local.
It not always realised how much different replacement glass can make to our carbon footprint, most people wait until the glass has misted, an indication that over time the seals have gone, however it can make sense to replace the glass in existing installations.
New legislation to make homes carbon neutral by 2016
National governments who have signed the Kyoto Protocol are introducing new measures to reduce their CO2 emissions. The UK has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 60% by the year 2050. As over 25% of these emissions in the UK are caused by energy use in the home, a number of environmental certification schemes are being introduced for both new build and existing properties. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had pledged to make all homes carbon neutral by 2016. In order to achieve the new environmental targets, a number of requirements affecting both home constructors and home owners are coming into effect imminently. These laws will mean that care needs to be given when selecting double glazing window for a new construction – or for replacemant windows – as it will affect any eventual sale of the home.
New Energy Performance Certificate required for Sale of Homes
New legislation which came into effect in October 2008 means that homes can no longer be sold without an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The new law applies to homes that are already on the market and those sellers without an EPC will be obliged to withdraw their homes from sale. The EPC is part of the UK government’s recently introduced Home Information Pack (see Regulations section for more details). The EPC gives a building an official energy rating from A to G (in a similar way to the energy ratings given for electronic goods), with A being the most efficient.
Window Energy Ratings play a key role in Energy Performance Certificate
Many houses are unable to achieve even a D rating on the Home Information Pack scale. For a home to achieve a C or above rating in the Energy Performance Certificate, the type of double glazing window chosen is crucial and standard double glazing window will not be sufficient.
Heating accounts for 60% of energy used in the home. Double glazing window plays a key role in a home’s overall energy rating as up to 25% of heating used can be lost through a double glazing window. As such, windows have their own labelling system -
The thermal insulation properties of Low E double glazing window achieves by far the greatest Window Energy Ratings and, depending on their construction, can obtain an A, B or C grade on the WER scale. To illustrate the difference, 1m2 of Low E glass emits 91 kilos less of carbon dioxide per year than 1m2 of standard double glazing window.
A typical semi-