The Big Reveal: Your Windows Are Lying to You In countless London homes, the symptoms are familiar: an expensive heating system constantly engaged, subtle draughts along skirting boards, and an ambient chill that resists control. Despite sound construction and architectural pedigree, the interior climate remains persistently uneven. The issue is seldom insulation in the walls … Continued
THE IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION “You’ve been told you can’t have period charm and Passivhaus performance. They were wrong.” For years, it has been an accepted truth — spoken quietly by architects, codified in planning guidance, and echoed by installers — that heritage windows and high-performance buildings are fundamentally incompatible. It’s not a baseless assumption. Traditional sash … Continued
The Lie You’ve Been Sold You’ve likely heard it repeated—confidently, and without scrutiny: “If you want Passivhaus performance, you’ll need triple glazing.” On the surface, it sounds rational. Scientific, even. But it’s a partial truth—and a costly one. In reality, triple glazing alone will not meet Passivhaus standards. In many British builds, it’s among the … Continued
The Spark of Envy At first, it was easy to overlook. A discreet scaffold. A tradesman’s van. Then, nothing. Now, their windows catch the morning light with a sharpness your own no longer holds. The frames are lean. The glass is clear. And when the sash opens, it moves with quiet precision—absent of friction, absent … Continued
The U-Value: The Quiet Metric Costing Homeowners Thousands Every winter, British homes lose a significant portion of their heating through a single architectural weakness: inefficient glazing. This is not the result of oversight or poor maintenance — it’s the result of a performance metric most homeowners are never told to ask about. That metric is … Continued
The Great Window Fallacy — Where tradition is too often underestimated. Conventional wisdom insists that timber sash windows are charming, yet inefficient. Visually elegant, but technically obsolete. A sentimental choice suited only to listed buildings and Georgian façades. This is not just outdated thinking — it is objectively incorrect. Modern timber sash windows are no … Continued
The £3,000 Draught You Didn’t Know You Had “Your windows aren’t broken. They’re simply obsolete—thermally, architecturally, and economically.” The greatest source of energy loss in most homes isn’t the roof or the boiler. It’s the windows. In London, the average period property can lose up to 38% of its internal heat through outdated glazing. That … Continued
Your Glazing May Be Compliant — But That Doesn’t Make It Passive If you only measure U-value, you’re building insulation — not architecture. In today’s glazing market, the conversation around performance too often begins — and ends — with U-value. Suppliers will point to it as proof of quality, citing compliance with Part L of … Continued
