How to show WERS ratings and window products on your website

The clearest way to show energy performance on a window company website is a short table on each product page with the WERS heating and cooling stars, the whole-window U-value and SHGC for each glass option, and a plain sentence on what those numbers mean. Quote the rated figure for the exact combination you sell, and say where it came from.

Homeowners replacing windows and builders chasing an energy rating both look for these numbers, and a vague “energy efficient” badge helps neither. This guide explains what WERS measures, how the numbers differ across frame types, and how to lay out product pages that stay accurate. Product pages with rating tables are part of what our window company websites include.

Why energy details belong on your website

Windows have a large effect on how comfortable a home is, and buyers know it. The Australian Government’s Your Home guide says up to 40% ³ of a home’s heating energy can be lost through windows, and up to 87% ³ of its heat gain can come through them.

That makes energy performance one of the main reasons people pay for double glazing or better frames, and one of the first things they compare between quotes. People also search in those terms. Google advises thinking about the words a user might search for ¹ to find your content, and buyers search for words like “U-value”, “WERS rated” and “thermally broken aluminium” as well as “double glazing”.

What WERS actually measures

The Window Energy Rating Scheme rates whole-window performance ² , including the contribution of both glass and frame. It is not a rating of the glass alone.

WERS gives separate heating and cooling ratings on a scale of 0 to 10 stars ² . Those stars rank a window against alternatives using 17 generic window types ² . Alongside the stars, WERS provides the U value, SHGC, air infiltration and light transmittance ³ of a window system.

Rated windows carry a WERS label ² certifying the rating. On your website, that label information is the source you should work from, not a brochure headline.

The terms, in plain words

• U-value: how readily heat passes through the window. Lower means less heat lost or gained through conduction.
• SHGC: solar heat gain coefficient, how much of the sun’s heat gets through. Whether you want it high or low depends on climate and orientation.
• Air infiltration: how much air leaks through the closed window.
• Visible light transmittance: how much daylight comes through.

U-values across frame and glass types

The gap between a basic single glazed aluminium window and a double or triple glazed uPVC window is large, which is why frame and glass choices deserve their own explanation on your site. The figures below are reported by one Melbourne window company for typical residential sizes ⁸ . They illustrate the spread; they are not ratings for any product you sell.

The frame matters as well as the glass. The same company reports a frame-only U-value (Uf) of 5.5 to 7.0 ⁷ for aluminium without a thermal break, 2.5 to 4.0 ⁷ for thermally broken aluminium and 1.5 to 2.5 ⁷ for uPVC.

Notice that the table gives a frame-only figure while the chart gives whole-window figures. Mixing those two on a product page is one of the easiest ways to confuse a buyer.

Laying out a product page

Build each product page around the order in which people decide: opening style and frame material first, then glass options with their rated values. A sample structure for an awning window page:

1. What it is: the opening style, where it suits (kitchens over benches, bathrooms, bedrooms), and sizes you make.
2. Frame: material, thermal break or not, colour range.
3. Glass options table: one row per glass combination, with heating stars, cooling stars, Uw and SHGCw.
4. What the numbers mean: two or three sentences for cold, mixed and hot climates.
5. Photos: real installs, each with alt text describing the window and room.
6. Quote request: a form asking for window count, rough sizes and suburb.

Photos need descriptions too. Google describes good alt text as short, descriptive alt text ¹ that explains how the image relates to the content, for example “white uPVC awning window above a kitchen sink” rather than “window1.jpg”.

How to avoid overstating performance

Quote the figure that matches what the customer will get, and label it. Most misleading energy claims on window websites come from borrowing a better number than the product deserves.

• Don’t headline the best rating in a range when the standard option rates lower. Show each option.
• Label whole-window values as Uw and SHGCw, and centre-of-glass values as such, if you show them at all.
• Don’t convert ratings into promised savings on power bills. Savings depend on the house, climate and use.
• Keep the date and source of each rating on the page, and review it when a supplier changes the product.
• Avoid “the most efficient windows in Australia” and similar claims you can’t prove.

Businesses selling retrofits face the same question in a different form, because buyers compare retrofit glazing with full replacement. Our page on websites for double glazing companies covers how to present that choice.

Rebates and building rules

Rebates and building rules are worth mentioning, but only with their conditions. In Victoria, the Victorian Energy Upgrades program offers a discount of up to $210 per 10 m² ⁴ to double glaze windows, and it applies to approved products only ⁴ on the VEU register. A page that says “rebates available” without that condition invites disappointed customers.

Builders are a different audience. Under NCC 2025, a house using the NatHERS pathway must reach at least 7 stars ⁵ , and in climate zones 2 to 8 ⁶ the glazing in each storey has to stay within a conductance and solar heat gain allowance under the deemed-to-satisfy provisions. A builder or energy assessor needs your rated Uw and SHGCw values to check that, so a downloadable spec sheet or a clear table on the website saves a phone call.

What to do next

1. Collect the current WERS rating details for every frame and glass combination you sell.
2. Make one table per product line, with heating stars, cooling stars, Uw and SHGCw for each glass option.
3. Write two or three plain sentences on what the numbers mean in your customers’ climate zones.
4. Add the rating source and date under each table.
5. Remove any energy claim you can’t trace to a rating.
6. If you work in Victoria, check which of your products are on the VEU register before mentioning the discount.

The short version

Energy performance is one of the main things window buyers and builders compare, so it deserves more than a badge. Show WERS heating and cooling stars, Uw and SHGCw for each exact product and glass option, keep whole-window and frame-only figures apart, and explain the numbers in plain words. Mention rebates and building rules with their conditions. For more on structuring the rest of the site, read what a window company website needs. If you would like product pages like these built and kept current for you, see pricing.