Energy efficiency may still be catching on in Cambodia but saving stacks of cash is high on any company’s agenda, especially when it comes to cutting the electricity bills.
For the last seven years, My Windows has been providing businesses with a way to keep cool while saving cash by importing top quality uPVC window and door frames from Europe and China.
And in a country where electricity bills can quickly spiral out of control because of high prices, a measure that can slash up to 40 per cent off your bill sounds appealing.
Kolja Schneider, My Windows sales and marketing manager, says, “uPVC is a relatively new technology in Cambodia and is still up-and-coming but is increasing in popularity as more European and other foreign investors come here, who understand the benefits.”
Despite the initial costs involved with installing uPVC windows – with aluminum costing about $50 to $60m2 , Chinese UPVc costing about $100m2 , and uPVC from Germany is about $200m2 – My Windows has grown between 20 and 25 per cent year on year.
“The price is much higher so we’re still trying to get Cambodians to understand why they’re paying so much upfront,” Schneider says. “You can save a lot of energy so in the long-term you can save a lot of money but it’s the start-up costs that are much higher. A lot of the time, Cambodians don’t want to think about the tomorrow, just the today but this is slowly changing.”
He adds that a top level German window frame combined with good quality glass can shave up to 40 per cent off annual electricity bills. “Electricity is very expensive here and it cuts a lot,” he comments. “The problem is when you have a big building and the electricity cuts for two hours and not everyone has a generator, it will warm up quite quickly.
“With this technology it will keep your room cold for significantly longer, the working environment is better and you have the sound insulation.” A high quality German window frame can cut sound by about 80 per cent.
The levels of glass used to fill windows also has an impact on energy efficiency but is, again, significantly more expensive. Regular 6mm clear glass is about $10m2compared with between $90 and $110m2 for insulated, reflective, double-pane glass.
As well as saving in the pocket and being energy efficient, uPVC frames are a fully recyclable, green product. “Anyone who wants to have a green future, this is the way to go,” Schneider advises.
“When you’re finished using the German frame, we can take it out, send it back to the company and they can reuse it eight times again to make new windows. With an average lifespan of 20 to 22 years for the window, that’s 200 years of using the same plastic.”
For more information, visit www.mywindow.biz.
