EcoGain and EcoRetain – What is the difference?
Anglian Home Improvements have released their new EcoGain and EcoRetain windows, but I bet quite a few of you are sat wondering what they are? Well, here is a brief description of what they are and the benefits that comes with them!
As we know, we are all looking for ways to reduce our energy bills to save money and with these new EcoGain and EcoRetain windows you can potentially do exactly that! To determine how well the windows perform depends on their energy efficiency label. This label is much like a label you get on ‘white’ goods, except it will tell you if you are going to save money rather than spend it on energy consumption.
This label is divided into 3 key areas, Rating, Energy Index and U, G and L values each indicating important information to consider when replacing your windows.
Rating – This is marked A-G, A being the highest G, the lowest, but these can be misleading as these categories cover a range of values, so be sure to read the other areas too!
Energy Rating – This is one of the key areas to consider, as this indicates the amount of energy lost or gained by the window in kilowatt hours, per square metre per year.
Confused? OK, here’s an example – if the label reads -2kWh/(m2-K) this is equal to 2 kilowatts of energy being lost through each square metre of window per year. According to the GGF, the average semi-detached house has 16.9sqM of windows, which would lose over one year the same amount of energy as leaving a 1kW heater on for nearly 34 hours running constantly.
The higher the number the less energy you will be wasting, above zero is even better as you will be saving more money!
U value – This shows the amount of Thermal Transmittance through the glass in kilowatt hours, per square metre per year. I need another example – If the label reads 1.5kWh/(m2-K) this is equal to 1.5 kilowatts of energy being lost through each square metre of your window per year. Well, going by the GGF figure above this means you would have gained 25.35kWh of energy each year(1kW heater on for nearly 25.35 hours running constantly)!
G value – This indicates the Solar Factor through the glass in kilowatt hours, per square metre per year. We recommend that this figure is as high as possible, the higher the figure the more energy and money you are saving!
L value – This is an indicator of the Air Leakage through the window, again, measured in kilowatt hours, per square metre per year, the lower the value the better
All casement windows should now have this value at zero, due to the improvements in technology and construction methods!
So, that is the breakdown of what the label indicates, but I still haven’t explained the difference between EcoGain and EcoRetain.
Well, now you have an understanding of the Energy rating label, here is the difference!
This is the EcoRetain White, U-PVC Casement window. As you can see, it has an overall B rating. However, it is quite a good B rating. The best description we heard is they are like a duvet, they don’t like to heat you up, but they do hold the heat in keeping you nice and warm.
However, EcoGain does help warm your house, here’s the facts…
This is the EcoGain White U-PVC Casement window. This label shows quite an improvement in its energy rating. It is rated an A, the Energy Index is above 2, which signifies how efficient at keeping energy inside this window is! This window will actually gain more heat into your house than it will allow out. This should allow you to turn the heating down a little as the windows will do some of the work. The conclusion is they’ll save you money on your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
Our standard windows are now referred to as EcoRetain, and our new range of A-rated windows are referred to as EcoGain.
Anglian Home Improvements raising the standard since 1966. Visit the Anglian website for information on our double glazed windows. Check out the EcoGain advert here!
Showing 3 Comments
I am a visitor to England from Cape Town,South Africa, and find this concept of heat retention or gain a very interesting concept. A lot of the windows in my home face the sun and they are regular glass. I was wondering if you have an outlet in Cape Town that i could contact as I am in the process of replacing my window frames from wood and steel to aluminium, and using this type of glass would be wonderful saving and very eco friendly.
Unfortunately, we are Great Britain based, but thank you for your interest. We are often asked to supply products for overseas, but as we would be unable to service our warantees we are not prepared to do this, as much as we would love to help.
I can see a clear advantage in the winter of reducing heating bills in the winter by keeping the heat inside. What I’m not sure about is the summer, will it still work to prevent overheating?