The current economic climate has created a trend for companies to refurbish their existing building stock instead of moving to newly constructed premises.

Older properties represent a large proportion of the UK’s building stock making it a problematic area for improvement. One significant area to improve on a building is its glazing, especially to the external elevations. This therefore is an important factor when refurbishing a building.

A more cost effective and environmentally friendly approach when considering the glass in a building is to transform it rather than to replace it. Retrofit products such as window film are useful for upgrading glazing, whether to meet current regulations, lower carbon footprints through energy saving, or to improve the aesthetics of a building.

One of the leading window film products in refurbishment is energy / solar control window film. These products reflect the sun's heat away whilst still allowing light through to maintain a good working environment. The environmental benefit of heat-reduction film is, in part, derived from the lowering of solar heat-gain: reducing the load on air-conditioning systems and allowing for greater efficiency of operation, lower room temperatures, lower energy cost and a reduced carbon footprint. New generation energy control window films such as Llumar’s “Enerlogic” can reduce energy costs all year round by also reducing heat loss in winter due to its’ state of the art low e coating.


Other films such as safety and security products help companies to comply with health and safety requirements in the workplace. This cost affective alternative to replacing the glass is mostly needed in older or listed buildings where the glass is not up to safety standards or cannot be replaced.

Instead of disrupting an office by relocating, office refurbishment is another option. Companies can transform offices to make better use of their existing working space. Privacy film applied to internal partitions permits a more open plan aspect to internal layouts whilst also improving the appearance and light levels.

Fiona at MVM Window Films states: "The current trend for refurbishment projects is creating a lot of interest in window film products, in particular our energy control window films. With the Carbon Reduction Commitment, businesses are striving to promote a greener image. Companies are opting to update their current property portfolio and window film can help them achieve this by improving their corporate image and working environment."