GEALAN and the environment

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GEALAN international:

Environment

Modern windows bring high energy savings

Climate Protection Begins at Home

The installation of modern windows can potentially bring a yearly energy savings of about 55 thousand million kilowatt hours in Germany. If the best available windows – according to the "passive house standards" – are installed, this figure rises to 77 thousand million kilowatt hours per year. When this calculation is applied to all of Europe, this suggests that Europe could save approximately 50 thousand million litres of heating oil annually. This was the result of a study carried out for the Working Co-operative for PVC and the Environment (AgPU) in Bonn by the Prüfinstitut für Bauelemente GmbH in Pirmasens.

"In light of the 'what-if' scenarios in the energy debate that are removed from real-world experience, we wanted to find practical solutions for homeowners that are within reach," explained Werner Preusker, AgPU's chief executive. The results are applicable to builders as well as renovators and legislation, as modern windows – along with insulation and more efficient heating systems – can save huge amounts of energy, an important aspect in respect to recent debates about the climate, rising oil prices and the Eco-Tax.

Modern window elements reduce energy costs with panes and frame elements – whether wood, vinyl or aluminium – that have vastly improved in the last decade. According to the study, German energy usage has been sinking steadily since 1990, despite a rise in the number of households. However, only a small percentage of homes and apartments have modern windows, and between 1980 and 1993 there was virtually no renovation. This indicates a substantial potential for energy savings, as about 75 percent of the energy used in German homes is spent on heating.

In other European nations, the average percentage of homes with efficient windows is much lower than in Germany. This is especially true in central and eastern European countries, and so the potential for energy savings there is much higher. Although the export of modern vinyl window profiles has boomed in recent years, the rate of renovation in relation to the number of households is still relatively small. Here there is not only a huge potential for reduction in energy costs, CO² emissions and owner maintenance, but also an attractive market for modern window profile exporters. German vinyl window manufacturers are already profiting from this trend, as their "export hits" help secure jobs in Germany.