As England and Wales endure red extreme heat warnings this June and July, REHAU is urging housebuilders, developers, and specifiers to rethink the role of the window in keeping homes cool. The window solutions specialist argues that overheating, energy efficiency, and natural light have become competing design problems on the modern home, and that meeting all three within a single product is now one of the most important decisions in any build. REHAU’s message is that these demands are best solved by working with the system manufacturer and fabricator from the outset, rather than treating the window as an off- the-shelf product. Mark Gajda, Head of Technical Services & Certification Manager at REHAU, said: “This is where the challenge really lies. A window as designed needs to do multiple jobs at once, which often seem to be in direct competition. Approved Document L wants to keep heat in, whereas Approved Document O wants to limit excess heat build-up by means of ensuring ability to release any excess heat. At the same time, homeowners and designers rightly want plenty of natural light, which usually means more glazing, not less, all to be achieved whilst specifying within the requirements of the appropriate Approved Documents. Balancing all of that within window designs is a real technical challenge.” The warning comes as recently published English Housing Survey (EHS) figures show that throughout 2024, approximately three million homes were reported as overheating, making up 13% of owner-occupied dwellings and 11% of both private and social rented dwellings. This marks a rise of 5% of total occupied dwellings in the last OVERHEATING IN HOMES: REHAU SAYS WINDOWS CAN NO LONGER BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT
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