The promise of ultra-low U-values is here
Aluplast has launched Energeto Neo, a radical new energy efficient profile that can create windows with a U-value of just 0.9W/m2K with a standard double glazed unit. We talk to Ian Cocken, sales and marketing director at Aluplast, to find out more.
Since Approved Document L of the Building Regulations was introduced in 1995, the target U-values for the building fabric – including windows and doors – have been continually tightened.
As from 15 June this year, windows and doors with a >60% glazed area going into newbuild properties will need to achieve a U-value of at least 1.2W/m2K. For existing buildings, this is 1.4W/m2K.
These figures are expected to become tighter as further revisions take effect and the government strives to meet its net zero target by 2050. The Future Homes and Buildings Standard will complement the Building Regulations and will ensure new homes built from 2025 will produce 75%-80% less carbon emissions than homes delivered under the old regulations.
Such an undertaking will require a huge investment from the construction and home improvement industries to ensure the products coming to market between now and 2025 are future-proofed and able to meet those tightening U-values.
Energeto Neo from Aluplast is a new flush-fit, 76mm front-to-back system now available in the UK, which tackles these challenges head on, while scoring marks for sustainability.
“Energeto Neo is a huge leap in innovation, and offers significant opportunities for fabricators and installers,” says Ian Cocken, sales and marketing director at Aluplast.
“On a headline level, windows manufactured using Energeto neo can achieve U-values as low as 0.9W/m2K with a standard 28mm double-glazed unit. But the key advantage for fabricators investing in this technology now is that the frame design allows U-values to be pushed much lower without significantly changing the overall design of the window – they will be effectively future-proofing themselves against further regulatory updates.”
Cocken explains that Energeto Neo offers a base-level 1.2W/m2K Uf-value, and the ability to carry units up to 50mm. This means triple glazing can easily be incorporated, which presents the opportunity to offer windows with ultra-low U-values.
Further options contribute to Energeto Neo’s energy efficiency. These include ‘Powerdur’, a specially designed fibre-glass-reinforced plastic insert, which improves the thermal performance and makes the windows 20% lighter than conventional windows. This saves fuel during transportation, relieving strain on the environment in the process.
Glass units can be bonded to the frame, which improves weather tightness, thermal performance, and the window’s rigidity. And since Energeto Neo windows are lighter, glass bonding doesn’t impact on the weight during installation.
The Energeto Neo system also has a classic centre seal – ‘safetec inside’ – which is a special extruded middle rebate with a third internal seal. This ensures better tightness of the entire construction, improves thermal and acoustic properties, and makes it more difficult to force open the sash by blocking access from an external attack.
Finally, all profile supplied by Aluplast, including in the UK, is made from Ecotech, which maximises the amount of recycled content in a profile’s design, without affecting performance.
Ecotech uses a ‘dual-extrusion’ process that uses two extruders in parallel to push recycled and virgin polymer through the profile die at the same time. This ensures that recycled material is only used in the internal webbing, remaining isolated from the external wall, with virgin polymer used to provide the external wall of the profile.
And all profile is available in 40 different foiled finishes, including Woodec and Aludec. These are next generation foils that accurately replicate timber and aluminium, and open up opportunities for fabricators and installers targeting high-end installations.
“With the introduction of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, the demand for exceptionally energy efficient windows is just on the horizon,” Cocken says, “and Aluplast is investing now, for the future, by building a new £26 million state-of-the-art extrusion facility on a 15-hectare site at Nagradowice, Poland, which will house 50 twin extrusion lines, doubling our already extensive manufacturing capacity.
“Energeto Neo is way ahead of the curve: a brand-new product, designed from the ground up, which closes the loop on recyclability, and raises the game for fabricators and installers in an increasingly environmentally conscious marketplace.”