A hot topic

The topic of energy efficiency hit the headlines recently with newspapers going to town on the fact that the government was wasting huge amounts of money trying to heat the Houses of Parliament. Thermal images, courtesy of npower, demonstrated just how inefficient the iconic buildings are compared with modern structures such as the Shard.

In turns out that energy provider npower has been scouring the UK looking for draughty buildings and found that some of the worst offenders were actually the most expensive, located in the poshest parts of the capital.

Those living in the Outer Hebrides and Aberdeenshire, in contrast, enjoyed some of the warmest homes, apparently due to the fact that the walls are jam packed with insulation.

While the headlines were obviously intended to stoke the fires of contempt amongst ‘working people’ that MPs were burning cash on heating bills, they also did a brilliant job of highlighting the benefits of installing energy efficient products – including new windows and doors.

For companies operating in the retail sector, selling on energy efficiency is either a big challenge or a major opportunity. It depends on what products you have at your disposal.

That’s due to the current cost of living and rise in energy bills, but in the long run the next stage of regulations that are due to come into force in 2025 will introduce even stricter requirements on U values.

Most system houses are working hard, now, to ensure they’re ready, including Aluplast which has just launched a new, ultra-energy efficient profile called Ideal Neo that promises U values of just 0.9W/m2k with a standard double glazed unit.

You can read more about it here