In many older build­ings, it is neces­sary to replace the win­dows and front doors over time, not least to reduce the con­sump­tion of heat­ing energy. This replace­ment is backed by sub­sidies. Due to the excel­lent insu­la­tion prop­er­ties of the new com­pon­ents and the res­ult­ing much tight­er build­ing envel­ope, the issue of indoor air qual­ity is com­ing into focus. In order to ensure a healthy liv­ing envir­on­ment, con­sumers should there­fore take care that the insu­lat­ing and seal­ing mater­i­als used for the install­a­tion of new win­dows and front doors carry the EMICODE^® label.

Mod­ern win­dows and front doors are highly com­plex sys­tems: triple glaz­ing, frames made of multi-cham­ber pro­files, vari­ous seals, dif­fer­ent frame mater­i­als and mater­i­al com­bin­a­tions, mul­tiple lock­ing sys­tems – all these com­pon­ents must be care­fully pro­cessed to provide high-qual­ity win­dows and entrance doors. But even the best qual­ity products are use­less if mis­takes are made dur­ing install­a­tion. To ensure expert work­man­ship, they should be built in by a pro­fes­sion­al win­dow and door fit­ter. Only then can the newly installed com­pon­ents reli­ably per­form their func­tions: pro­tec­tion against burg­lars, insu­la­tion against heat and cold in sum­mer and winter, as well as pro­tec­tion against noise emis­sions, for example caused by traffic.

Con­sumers who want to play it safe watch out for qual­ity in both products and their install­a­tion. The RAL qual­ity marks, which are issued by the Ger­man Qual­ity Assur­ance Asso­ci­ation for Win­dows, Facades and Entrance Doors in cooper­a­tion with the ift Rosen­heim test­ing and cer­ti­fic­a­tion body, provide valu­able assist­ance in this regard.