The British government has just announced new targets to reduce our carbon emissions over the coming years. The Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has stated that the UK is to adopt plans to cut emissions by 50 per cent on 1990 levels by 2025. By introducing these measures, the energy efficiency ratings of new and existing residential and commercial buildings will need to be improved in order for the government to reach this quota.
Our MOT Your Home initiative intends to help homeowners introduce energy efficiency measures into their homes. By taking on board this advice they will be able to help the country reduce its carbon emissions. The initiative is backed by TV architect George Clarke and is often referred to on the Pilkington Glass blog. A full overview of the initiative can be viewed here.
Alongside the need to upgrade existing homes to become more
energy efficient, there are also a number of new ‘green’ homes being built in the
UK that are designed with
energy efficiency at their heart. A prime example of this new wave of sustainable building is the ‘Green Building’ an 11 story apartment tower in Manchester that is situated at the centre of the development of Macintosh Village, a once abandoned industrial area of the city. Completed in 2005 the ‘Green Building’ is constructed entirely of environmentally friendly materials and also features numerous technology solutions, including
energy efficient glazing, which reduces the building’s carbon emissions.
Taking advantage of the circular shape of the building there are large,
triple glazed thermally efficient windows on the south side to maximise energy yields from sunlight, while smaller windows on the north face avoid unnecessary heat loss. By using
thermally efficient glass in this way the ‘Green Building’ is able to ensure optimal
energy efficiency levels are met.
Pilkington Glass provides
glazing solutions that can improve the
energy efficiency of a home in a similar way to the performance of the
glazing on the ‘Green Building.’ The Pilkington
energiKare™ range features four different
energy efficient glass products that can be incorporated into a home to help reduce its carbon emissions. The full range features Pilkington
energiKare™ Classic, Pilkington
energiKare™ Plus, Pilkington
energiKare™ Triple and Pilkington
Spacia™ glass (formerly Legacy). These products can cut the amount of heat that is lost through the
windows in a home by up to a staggering 75 per cent, so it’s clear that
energy efficient glass can play a key part in helping the government and the British public reduce the country’s carbon emissions and meet the targets set by the coalition come 2025.
For further information on
energy efficient glass visit the
Pilkington Glass website
here