Climate change and the impending new Building Regs are driving a growing demand for specialist glasses with more than 60% of specifiers seeing a spike in orders for solar control glass and over half reporting the same with thermal control products, according to new research by Pilkington UK.
It adds that two thirds (66%) attribute it to the proposed new Regs while 62% say climate change is a factor.
Specifiers have also reported an increase in demand for other specialist glazing products. A quarter (25%) have seen an increased requirement for acoustic glass while 23% have reported a surge in demand for self-cleaning glass.
Phil Brown, European regulatory marketing manager at Pilkington UK said: “Specifiers are acting now to equip buildings with the high-performance glazing that can help them to deliver sustainable energy performance, while making developments more comfortable year-round without the need for heating and cooling systems.
“This proactivity is encouraging to see ahead of new regulations coming into play over the next year that are expected to drive this trend further. Fresh momentum behind solar control and thermal insulation specifications reflects developers growing sustainability commitments, and demand from occupants for lower energy costs.
“We’re working closely with the glass and glazing supply chain to ensure building design professionals have the right specifications of glass to deliver the best energy performance – often specialist glass that delivers both solar control and thermal insulation performance.”
The poll of 142 specifiers by the company signalled that most are confident about future business opportunities. The majority of specifiers expect to see revenue growth in the next 12 months either ‘ahead’ (44%) or ‘significantly ahead’ (14%) of last year, while seven in ten say they are feeling positive about the future of their business.
https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk
