The Vinyl Council of Australia welcomes the findings of a new report that shows stronger energy standards in Australia’s National Construction Code can be delivered cost-effectively for new home owners and will help Australia cut its carbon emissions.

Higher-performing uPVC windows that balance optimisation of heating and cooling loads with consumers’ desire for greater natural light should be actively encouraged as the energy-efficient and cost-effective solution for Australian homes.

According to Geman industry experts, uPVC windows are estimated to have reached a market share of 57.7 % of all window units (WU) sold in Germany in 2017. The findings of four German industry associations was that positive overall economic conditions and rising residential construction is leading to growth of the German window market.

A new house in a Melbourne suburban street has demonstrated that affordable Passive House construction looks within reach in Australia.

A common sight in homes throughout Europe, the UK and US over the last few decades, uPVC windows have been slow to catch on in Australia. But this is changing as rising energy costs are prompting homeowners to consider the many benefits provided by today’s modern high-performance uPVC windows.

Australian homeowners expect many things from their new build or renovation; comfort, natural light, security and efficiency top the list in our move towards high performance housing.

Syndey based Houzz contributor, Rebecca Gross has written a great guide to uPVC window frames and their thermal-energy performance, acoustic properties and durability.

uPVC windows are known around the world for their thermally insulating properties, keeping heat out in summer and heat in in winter. A typical uPVC double glazed window has a U-value of, or below 2.0 W/m2K which makes it a high performing window, but what about 'low-e' and 'IGUs' and all the other terms used in discussing windows?

The Australian Passive House Association (APHA) has developed a simple App to demonstrate improvements that could be achieved to the government's designs for 7-star energy efficiency homes.

uPVC Windows Alliance member, Plustec's Dr. Tracy Wakefield will be presenting on bringing modern window systems technology to Australia at an SPE event next week. Plustec has just produced the first Australian-extruded uPVC window profiles.

A total of 4,583 modules were installed in the PV system on five roofs at profine GmbH's Pirmasens site. Photo: profine

Drawing on their collective technological and manufacturing expertise from working in the automotive sector, four business partners are building capacity to lead the Australian housing market towards higher performing wndows.

Australia is at least twenty years behind Europe and North America when it comes to high performance housing, and the windows that Australians use in their home design play a large role in that.

In September this year, VCA member Fenestration Solutions Australia proudly celebrated its eighth birthday. During this time, FSA has seen a significant growth in the high performance window and door market, and in particular, uPVC.

The University of Tokyo in Japan has made it one of its missions to contribute to the realisation of a sustainable society by creating a sustainable campus, while at the same time encouraging research and education by drawing on its wealth of existing intellectual resources. To do this, it has established the Todai (Tokyo University) Sustainable Campus Project (TSCP), an alliance between industry and academia.

Although we have seen a steady increment over the past five years, the uPVC window sector in Australia currently represents just 4-5 percent of the total window market here. Nevertheless, there is an expectation from most quarters of the industry that uPVC windows will become increasingly popular, just as they have in other major regions such as the US and Europe.

Adding insulation to walls in new construction or upgrading insulation in existing residential buildings has gradually become common sense in Australia.

You have made the sensible decision to specify uPVC windows for your project and have identified some local manufacturers / suppliers. What are some of the things you need to ask them?

Showing just how recyclable uPVC window profiles are, the UK has achieved record recycling rates in 2015 with 61,886 tonnes of the product being reprocessed during the year.

There are widespread concerns about the actual performance of Australian homes that are supposed to be achieving minimum energy efficiency standards in the National Construction Code (NCC).