With the publication of the Future Homes Standard, the direction of travel for the new build sector is now unmistakably clear.
Sonia Holden, Head of Commercial at Profile 22, explains why this moment reinforces an approach we’ve championed for many years.
When the eagerly awaited Future Homes Standard was published, much of the industry reaction focused on what was changing. For us, the more important question was what it confirms.
The emphasis is no longer just on meeting generic target U-values, but on evidencing an area weighted performance across every individual window and door configuration supplied into the building envelope. It represents a fundamental shift in how compliance is demonstrated and one that will reshape specification decisions across the industry.
For a long time, there has been a non-intentional gap between theoretical performance and what is actually delivered on site. Standard window sizes and simplified calculations have been used as a benchmark, but they don’t always reflect the complexity of modern installations. What the Future Homes Standard does is close that gap.
The move to the Home Energy Model means that every individual window must now be assessed based on its actual size, specification and components. That includes everything within the aperture, including frame extensions, cills, Georgian bars, non-structural couplers etc. It’s a far more accurate way of measuring performance, but it also raises the bar significantly for the entire supply chain.
This is where the challenge begins. Smaller windows, more complex designs and additional features all have an impact on thermal performance. Achieving a 1.2 W/m²K notional target could become far more demanding when you move away from the ‘standard calculation window’ and start working across typical project specifications.
And that’s why we are already seeing conversations around triple glazing becoming more prominent.
From a Profile 22 perspective, however, this isn’t a sudden shift. It’s something we have been preparing for over many years.
Long before the latest changes to Approved Document L were introduced, our focus has been on delivering consistent, proven performance across a wide range of window and door specifications, not just optimised test scenarios. That means designing products that perform just as effectively in smaller apertures, more complex formats and fully featured window styles as they do in standard configurations.
It’s one of the reasons Profile 22 has become one of the UK’s most widely specified PVCU window and door systems. The award-winning system has always been designed with performance, versatility and compliance in mind, giving fabricators confidence that what they manufacture will stand up to both regulatory scrutiny and customer expectations.
In many ways, the Future Homes Standard simply validates that approach.
Of course, standing still is not an option and that’s certainly not our mindset. While Profile 22 is already well positioned for the new requirements, we continue to invest in product development to ensure our customers stay ahead of the curve. New innovations both on the drawing board and being introduced this year will further enhance performance while opening up additional opportunities for fabricators. Because compliance alone isn’t the end goal.
What fabricators need is a system that doesn’t stand still and wait years for a new system to solve problems, instead it evolves and grows to meet the changing legislative landscape. That means offering flexibility across design, supporting a wide range of specifications and delivering reliable performance without adding unnecessary complexity to the fabrication process.
The Future Homes Standard will undoubtedly change how windows and doors are specified in new build. It will place greater emphasis on detail, accuracy and accountability and rightly so. But for those already working with systems designed to perform, it’s not a disruption. It’s an opportunity.
At Profile 22, and across our wider PVC-U and aluminium system brands, we see this as a moment for the industry to move forward with greater clarity and confidence. The rules of the game may have evolved, but the fundamentals remain the same: well-designed systems, supported by proven data and ongoing innovation, will always put fabricators in the strongest possible position. And that’s exactly where Profile 22 is — and where it will remain.