I have recently bought a fridge. You may wonder what that has to do with double glazing, but hear me out.
Once the delivery men had dropped my new fridge freezer off, they left the usual bits of paperwork and what not, but they also left me a certificate which showed me the energy efficiency of the product. My particular model is an A+ version. You may think that this is good, well, yes and no. It’s good if you think all A ratings are the same. It’s not top of the pile when you consider that the ratings for fridge freezers go up to A+++.
To me, when I start seeing all those +’s after the A rating, it starts to look a little silly. This has always been my worry when it comes to WER’s for double glazing. You can’t get any higher in the alphabet than A, so the only alternative is to add some +’s. But as the boundaries of what is possible in terms of energy efficiency are pushed and become better and better, the only way to go will be to add more plus signs.
This isn’t the best way to demonstrate energy efficiency. All those +’s after the letter A really do start to look daft. People turn off after seeing one of them, three or four more won’t make a blind bit of difference. What this does do is to help justify the use of U-Values. You can’t stick some endless mathematical symbols on the end of it to show off energy efficiency. They are worked out on solid equations which seem to be far more trustworthy than WER’s are.
So, this is the future of the energy ratings for windows ladies and gents. More and more +’s will be piled on to the end of A ratings because the system is now trapped in a scheme which poorly gets across and very important message.
What do you think will happen in the future? Are U-Values the best way to demonstrate energy efficiency to the customer? Should we stick with WER’s and make the best of it? All comments welcome in the section below.
Well at last, Imo scrap A ratings., the important information is how much energy your new windows (fridge) will actually save (use) during the year. Check the white strip which come with fridge, you may be surprised. IMO opinion an typical house will save £10 a year more by fitting an a rated windows against a B rated windows. Now also take in to account all that extra heat attracted by those A rated. Windows, so you , starts to get too hot , open the window, turn on an fan or air con. Now how much does that cost… Read more »
You have demonstrated why these ratings are not all they are cracked up to be by not seeking out an A+++ fridge. You made the decision based on a number of factors size, style, storage etc… Or if you’re like me you bought the one your missus picked out. If it had a u value I doubt your decision would have altered. How you integrate these intangible benefits into your own sales pitch or marketing campaign is what seems to matter… For example I can buy a rated windows at the same price as lower rated windows in different systems… Read more »
I think they got it backwards from the start. If the worst had been A and the best at the time had ended at G, you can bet that everyone would have tried to push towards the G end of the scale (just as everyone now wants to push towards the A end of the scale now), but once everyone is producing G rated products and customers want some distinction, they could have easily and non-confusingly added H, I, J ratings into the mix without resorting to the current A+++++++ confusion. That EPC shown is starting to look like an… Read more »
Aha , an interesting topic and one which I am familiar with from days gone by , I believe it is a scam from the outset , that is why the A is getting to ++ status . The GGF /BFRC cannot explain or provide a reference for the solar data used in the formula , they do not even apply any shading or utility factors in the formula. In fact I recall that the current ‘BRFC’ calculations had 36% more solar gain than the original ‘BFRC’ formula of 1999 (ish) , where did that come from? I believe that… Read more »