If you are looking to recycle your old windows, it can be confusing. On the one hand, councils and recyclers may charge you a fee to dispose of them, while on the other hand, many window firms will actually pay you money to take them off your hands. So how does this work? And is a window scrappage scheme worth it?

To put it bluntly, giving you money (or a discount on their services) to scrap your old windows is a fake discount. To give you money off your order, the initial cost has to be higher in the first place. Using the term ‘scrappage scheme’ sounds more official (even though there is no such scheme for the double glazing industry) and is likely to entice more customers. If a company finds out that you want scrappage of your own windows, they will simply give you a higher quote and then take off the scrappage discount, returning you to the original price.

This is not the only trick that some double-glazing retailers will try and convince you with. Many companies state that you will save significant amounts of money by buying newer windows. While this is partly true, it is exaggerated. All windows do lose some heat, and newer windows tend to be more efficient, so this part is correct. However, you will not save much money – this is because the cost of replacing your windows vastly outweights any savings in your energy bills and will do even over many years.

There are many reasons to buy new double glazing. But if you are expecting it to pay for itself through reduced heating bills, then think again.