Windows manufactured to Wood Window Alliance (WWA) standards give a service life of at least 60 years, even under low maintenance regimes, a new study by Imperial College, London, reveals.
The research also shows that the service life can be extended to 80 years or beyond by designing buildings to ensure windows are more sheltered and by undertaking enhanced maintenance regimes.
The findings are good news for specifiers, particularly those working on local authority and public buildings, as they reflect the 60-year design life required for new buildings.
John McCombes, managing director of Teknos UK and member of the WWA research sub-committee, said the research validated the “huge advance” in manufacturing standards over the past five years.
The Imperial College data has been used to provide a new whole life costing analysis. This work considers building life periods of 60, 80 and 100 years across a range of exposure conditions and maintenance regimes for two A and C BFRC energy-rated windows and comparable PVCu windows. The extended service life of a WWA window results in whole life costs 2-7% lower than PVCu windows at 60 years and beyond.
The results complement Davis Langdon’s research on embodied CO2e impacts, carried out in 2009, and updated in 2010, which revealed that the overall life cycle of a WWA frame is carbon negative.
