Over recent years the uPVC industry has tried to counteract the bad press from the environmental lobby for not being a green product.
Ventrolla, the sash window renovation specialists, believe the argument should start with challenging whether replacing windows unnecessarily is the right environmental option if you consider that replacement sash windows and/or casement windows consume up to 40 times more energy than renovation!
It should be obvious that a window renovation process, which retains much of the existing material, has clear environmental benefits over manufacturing replacement windows. However, many people fail to consider the whole picture and wider implications. Here we explain the facts behind renovation vs replacement.
Whole Life Costs
"Whole life cost" is measurement of the total environmental impact of a product from cradle to grave, or put another way, from the extraction of raw materials to disposal of the product at the end of its life.
Energy Comparison
Renovating windows rather than replacing them retains the carbon store - or invested energy - from the original manufacturing process. This provides a vast saving in energy, from extracting raw materials through to the processing of these into finished products, as the simple equation below illustrates:
Minimal waste = less material sent to landfill or for recycling
By renovating sash windows, Ventrolla, the sash window specialists, have a system that effectively recycles materials at source, which minimises waste. This is an important environmental benefit when compared to uPVC replacements, whereby:
- 82% of uPVC goes to landfill
- 43% of uPVC is made up of non-renewable resources
- 15% of uPVC is incinerated
- Only 3% of uPVC is recycled
Environmental Benefits of Window Renovation:
- Uses 1/40th of the energy of replacement
- Material sent to landfill is reduced
- Use of finite resources is minimised
- Invested energy, or carbon store, is retained
View our Green Pack for more information on Home Information Packs (HIPs), Independent Testing, Building Regulations Part L1b & L2b and Energy Comparisons.
Read about the Ventrolla Sash Window Renovation Service and how you can improve the energy efficiency of your sash windows or casement windows.
Image: Data extracted from the School of Engineering, Napier University (Life Cycle of Window Materials) and the Embodied Energy Study by Victoria University of Wellington.