Once, people wanted to know, “how green is your garden?” Today, the focus of the question is about your property itself. “How green is your home?”, Terry Ledwith, National Sales Manager at Reynaers UK, explains why aluminium windows and doors are becoming increasingly more attractive for homeowners looking to improve sustainability.
There are many reasons for the continuing trend towards greater sustainability and eco-friendly design. Most obviously, there’s the need to help support climate action by making responsible choices, favouring the use of materials and construction processes that won’t harm the environment.
But there are numerous practical benefits too. A sustainable building is one that doesn’t lose heat easily, and retains the warmth within the home where it’s needed. It’s also a property that has been designed to bring in natural light, to reduce the need for artificial light during the day. Getting these elements right means lower energy bills, which in addition to being an environmental benefit also presents a cost-saving for the savvy homeowner.
Keeping the heat in
Replacing doors and windows – alongside broader considerations such as loft insulation – is one of the most effective home improvements a homeowner can make to enhance the sustainability of their home. Advances in thermal efficiency and performance mean that modern windows and doors are better than ever at maximising natural light and reducing heat loss.
In addition to creating value by improving thermal performance, aluminium windows and doors have the ability to increase the value of a property. They increase the chance of creating a good first impression when it comes to selling.
Hot property
When it comes to retaining a building’s heat, aluminium windows and doors are designed to meet different levels of thermal insulation. This insulation level is called the U-value. The lower the U-value, the higher the level of insulation the system offers. This insulation level is realised by cleverly engineered gaps, known as thermal breaks, between the inner and outer aluminium profiles. Reynaers profiles also have a unique centre seal or gasket and a continuous acoustic seal, to ensure continuous performance.
By bringing in other innovations such as reinforced polyamide bars, conductivity can be slowed down by up to 1,000 times. This state-of-the-art insulation technique connects the outer chamber and the inner chamber through fiberglass-reinforced polyamide strips.
Naturally light work
Aluminium is also extremely light and strong – the ideal combination to create narrow frames and large expanses of glass in doors or windows. Not only does this mean a sleek, slimline appearance that’s attractive on the interior and exterior of the home, it also means that daylight will flood into the home for a vibrant, natural effect.
As a conduit to provide large amounts of natural light into the home, a greater connection between inside and out is established, enabling the key principles of biophilic design and putting the mental and emotional health of the building’s occupants to the forefront of design choices.
Re-use and recycle
Another long-term benefit of aluminium when it comes to sustainability is that it is 100% recyclable. Due to its strength and durability, aluminium maintains all of its performance characteristics no matter how many times it goes through the recycling process. That means it can be recycled over and over again, with no loss of quality.
Of course, all building products have a carbon footprint, so it’s worth understanding the impact of any material. For example, the most significant part of aluminium’s carbon usage is caused by the need for electricity in the production process. At Reynaers, we are committed to making our aluminium doors and windows as sustainable as possible – that’s why we have increased our use of low carbon primary aluminium. By purchasing aluminium produced using green electricity, we are reducing our own CO2 emissions by more than 25%.
In short, adding aluminium windows or doors to the home is one of the best ways homeowners can improve its levels of sustainability – and help them to answer the question on everybody’s lips: “how green is your home?”
To find out more about Reynaers range of aluminium windows and doors, visit https://www.reynaersathome.co.uk/.
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