The well-publicised slowdown of UK house prices is putting greater pressure on Basingstoke residents looking to sell their homes to address the needs and desires of buyers. This is compounded by the fact that although at £275,000 the average house price in the area is £45,000 more than the national average, it is significantly cheaper than neighbouring Berkshire and Surrey, which both appear in the top 10 most expensive areas in the country.

A survey by estate agency group Spicerhaart suggests that one of the top three most sought-after features in a potential home is natural light - something that is even more acute as we reach the shortest daylight hours in December. Insulation is a key issue for wintertime, but the need to conserve heat and energy needn’t be at the expense of better use of natural lighting.

Brackenwood Windows and Conservatories are keen to highlight that double-glazed windows and conservatories can make the most of the precious winter sunshine, adding brightness and warmth to your home without increasing heating bills and the negative affects on the environment.

Innovations such as Pilkington Activ™ self-cleaning glass, as well as the obvious benefits of double-glazing, make it easier and more practical than ever before to add greater natural light to homes. A conservatory is an excellent focal point for family and friends to get together, to enjoy the benefits of winter sunshine without the cold temperatures. Natural light also makes living space appear larger, a real bonus at Christmas with extra guests visiting.

It’s not just the glass that can brighten up a home, as Brackenwood’s Managing Director David Medcraft explains:

Old, drab and tatty window frames and doors can really age a property, making it look unwelcoming and unloved. A fresh set of windows and doors can transform the look of a house, both inside and out and the benefits to energy saving and heat retention are well publicised. We offer a wide range of styles and designs and can also match specific colours (for frames and doors, from thousands of possible shades) to perfectly compliment the décor of the house both inside and out.

The window cleaner is a popular figure in the British psyche, immortalised by George Formby’s famous song and in a more risqué fashion by Robin Askwith’s ‘Confessions of a Window Cleaner’ film. But in an age of monumental technological progress the dependable services of the window cleaner have a new rival – self-cleaning glass.

At Brackenwood, we have been so impressed with the Pilkington Activ™ self-cleaning glass we supply to customers, that we fitted our entire showroom in Kimbell Road (opposite B&Q) with it.

Developed by internationally recognised glass experts Pilkington, Activ™ is the world’s first self-cleaning glass to utilise a microscopic coating which uses the elements of the weather to remove dirt. The first stage uses a ‘photocatalytic’ process whereby the coating reacts with daylight to break down organic dirt. The second stage is ‘hydrophilic’ – rainwater hitting the glass spreads evenly (instead of forming droplets) and removes the loosened dirt when it drains off, without leaving streaks.

There is a strong safety aspect to the use of self-cleaning windows. According to HSE statistics, Hampshire had the highest number of injuries from falls in the UK in 2004/2005, with 249 people suffering injuries at work following a fall. Self-cleaning windows are a particular benefit in hard-to-reach, largely inaccessible areas (where cleaning can be time-consuming and expensive, but which are ideal as a light source - such as skylights for example). Human intervention is rarely required, so the likelihood of potential accidents is reduced. Another benefit is that the chances of potentially environmentally damaging cleaning chemicals escaping into the local water and sewage systems are significantly reduced.

Self-cleaning glass promises significant benefits for all uses, as Brackenwood’s Managing Director David Medcraft explains: “The health and safety benefits are obvious, but also the work and effort involved with reaching and cleaning windows safely can be considerable, even with a small building. Self-cleaning glass can bring real cost savings to homeowners and the windows are constantly cleaning any debris from themselves, rather than having to wait for manual cleaning, so in ground dirt is unable to settle. The coating also makes it quick and easy to wash off dirt if the weather is dry and unable to remove it naturally.”

Brackenwood’s Kimbell Road site has relatively difficult access from a window cleaners’ point of view (partially due to parking access on the ground level and sloping ground). Because of these challenges the building has particularly benefited from using Activ™ glass due to the high percentage window space used in its design.