Custom Profiles for Net-Zero Buildings

Why Net-Zero Buildings Need Bespoke Extrusions

Meeting the UK’s net-zero ambitions isn’t simply a matter of swapping out materials — it demands a fundamental rethink of how every component in a building is designed and specified. Standard, off-the-shelf profiles were never created with the stringent U-value targets, airtightness requirements, or embodied carbon benchmarks that are now written into policy.

This is where bespoke extrusion becomes essential. By tailoring aluminium and plastic profiles to the exact performance demands of modern buildings, it’s possible to integrate features that would otherwise require multiple secondary processes or add-on components. A purpose-designed extrusion can combine structural integrity, insulation, and recyclability within a single system, supporting both regulatory compliance and long-term sustainability.

 Net-zero construction requires components that:

• Minimise heat loss via thermal breaks, gaskets, and multi-chamber designs

• Support airtightness while enabling controlled ventilation

• Use lower-carbon materials such as recycled aluminium or PVC with verified post-consumer content

• Enable design for disassembly to support circular economy frameworks

Over a 60-year building lifecycle, every incremental improvement in U-value, airtightness, or embodied carbon compounds into major emissions savings.

The Regulatory Drivers

The move toward net-zero is not voluntary — it’s being driven by a series of increasingly stringent regulations and standards that govern how UK buildings are designed, constructed, and maintained. These frameworks directly affect the materials and systems architects and manufacturers can specify, and by extension, the kinds of extrusions that must be engineered to meet them.

• Future Homes Standard (2025): Requires 31% carbon reduction vs. current Part L standards [3]; demands <0.8 W/m²K U-values for high-performance glazing, achievable only through advanced profiles

• Building Safety Act (2022): Stricter fire safety rules for residential buildings, directly influencing framing and cladding material selection

• Part F & Part O: Ventilation and overheating standards requiring airtight yet breathable designs — supported by integrated seals and controlled airflow paths

• Voluntary Schemes (BREEAM, LEED, WELL): Reward use of low-carbon materials, recycled content, and traceable UK/EU supply chains

The BWC advantage: We engineer compliance into the profile itself at the design stage, reducing the need for retrofitting or costly secondary processing.

Technical Innovation in Net-Zero Profiles

Achieving compliance is one thing — but true net-zero performance comes from technical innovation. At BWC, we don’t just meet regulatory minimums; we use advanced extrusion techniques to unlock higher thermal efficiency, longer service life, and lower whole-life carbon.

Some of the most effective approaches include:

• Thermal Breaks in Aluminium: Co-extruded polyamide strips (λ ≈ 0.25 W/mK) integrated into aluminium frames (λ ≈ 160 W/mK), reducing U-values by up to 40%

• Multi-Chamber PVC Profiles: 5–7 chamber designs creating insulating air pockets, achieving U-values as low as 0.8 W/m²K, supporting Passivhaus certification

• Surface Engineering: Powder-coating and anodisation extend service life >40 years, reducing lifecycle carbon

• Integrated Seals & Gaskets: Co-extruded TPE/EPDM seals reduce bridging and leakage, supporting Part L airtightness targets

• Simulation & Testing: FEM optimises conductivity; validation against BS EN ISO 10077-2 (thermal performance) and BS EN 12207 (air permeability)

Sustainability Beyond Energy

Net-zero isn’t just about reducing operational energy — embodied and end-of-life carbon are equally important. This requires material strategies that balance performance with sustainability, ensuring profiles contribute to circularity as well as efficiency.

Key pathways include:

• Recycled Aluminium: Low-carbon alloys (>75% post-consumer scrap) with embodied carbon as low as 2.3 kg CO₂e/kg

• Recycled Plastics: Multi-layer PVC with virgin skins over recycled cores

• Design for Disassembly: Mechanical joins for recovery and reuse

• EPDs: Transparent lifecycle data for certification and procurement

These strategies align with the RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment (2023) and the UK Green Building Council Roadmap.

BWC Profiles' Technical Role

Delivering net-zero-ready profiles is not about catalogue supply; it’s about technical partnership. BWC works with architects, system designers, and manufacturers to integrate regulatory and performance requirements directly into extrusion design.

Our approach includes:

• Die Design Expertise: In-house tooling to optimise thermal chambers and break zones

• Prototyping & Iteration: Pilot runs validate U-values before scaling.

• Compliance Consultancy: Guidance on UK/EU regulations and voluntary schemes

• Process Control: IoT-enabled extrusion lines for consistent quality.

• Lifecycle Data: Carbon data supplied for BREEAM, LEED, and EPD submissions

The Future: Smart, Modular, Circular

The extrusion industry is evolving in line with construction’s shift toward modular, circular, and digitally integrated systems. Looking ahead, we see three major trends shaping the future of profile design:

• DfMA & Modular: Profiles optimised for offsite assembly and minimal waste

• Smart Façades: Integrated channels for sensors, cabling, and shading

• Bio-Based Polymers: Bio-PVC and fibre composites entering the mix

• Urban Mining: Profiles tagged with material passports for recovery

  
  

The path to net zero runs through the details of design — and extrusion is at its heart. By engineering profiles for insulation, recyclability, and compliance, BWC Profiles enables architects and manufacturers to deliver buildings that are not only compliant, but future-ready. Contact us for more information on how we can help with your net zero commitments.