Elite by Aluco, a brand new steel-look exterior window and door system, we have named Product of the Year 2024.
Elite stands out as a groundbreaking new collection of windows and doors, which we see has great design, technical innovation, and premium craftsmanship. Above all, Aluco has worked to create a product that’s even closer to the actual steel window.
Read the Aluco Elite Door and Windows Review.
The Door and Window Experts Website Product of the Year is announced every December and is our choice of the best door or window product during the year. We select the product based on many factors, including design, performance, quality, specifications, its retail and commercial appeal in the market, as well as the company and people behind the product.
Here is why the Door and Window Experts Website chose Elite by Aluco as the Product of the Year 2024.
Steel-Look Excellence in a Growing Market
The industrial, heritage, and steel-look aesthetic continues to dominate as one of the most sought-after styles for windows and doors. It is now a mature market. In 2025, we know of several brands that are due to bring out both external and internal door steel-look, industrial or heritage systems. These new products will come not only from established UK system companies. There will be new products from Europe. Even those aluminium brands that are better known for commercial doors, commercial windows, and curtain walling are also bringing out steel-look windows and doors.
The vast majority of aluminium offerings continue to lack refinement. It sometimes seems existing and new products are introduced to address gaps in a brand’s portfolio rather than being inspired creations that captivate the customer. However, even dull brands can excel with the proper marketing and messaging.
The trained fenestration eye can see beyond the marketing messages that these steel-look systems aren’t actually that great. We think the UK market has struggled to produce steel-inspired options that truly excel in their styling. However, being balanced as well, aluminium is more challenging to work with than steel for an industrial or heritage window.
It’s not just about how windows and doors look. They must also perform. Those of us in the fenestration sector are aware of brands that face challenges meeting Building Regulations U-Values unless triple-glazed. Others raise eyebrows and questions among glazing professionals about how they even comply.
Why Aluco Elite?
In contrast, Elite by Aluco embodies what steel-look systems should be. Firstly, it’s a beautiful collection of windows and doors. They’re expertly made with 1st-class build quality and attention to detail, with the modern security, insulation and weather protection features customers expect.
Compared to the other steel-look systems on the market, Aluco brings a fresh perspective. And rather than being mainstream, it remains reasonably exclusive.
Aluco only makes steel look windows and doors and no other product type. There’s no other company in the UK with this singular product focus on both external and internal steel-inspired windows and doors.
Elite by Aluco has addressed and ironed out most of the limitations and design frustrations of most other steel-look systems while redefining the standard for what these products can achieve. It’s not 100% perfect, but no door or window is. This is a system designed from the outset as a steel look. It is not merely a slim window or door with nothing more than bars on the glass, as some brands still offer.
If you compare Elite French Doors as just one example to a good-seller like Origin’s OB-36 double door set, it’s immediately apparent how much better made, designed and styled Elite is.
The Elite system sets a new standard in steel-look design, prioritising aesthetics. The attention to detail is evident in features like one-piece door frames, integrated trickle vents, flush black key cylinders, and Aluco’s unique Floating Lock design, delivering a level of refinement not seen in competing products.
Futureproofed for 2025 regulations, Elite achieves impressive U-values as low as 1.4 W/m²K with double glazing and 1.0 W/m²K with triple glazing. Its versatility allows for configurations like bay windows and French doors with toplights, while compliance with Part M ensures accessibility, making it a sophisticated and flexible choice for any project.
All these reasons and more are why it’s been chosen as Product of the Year 2024.
Aluco Elite. Product of the Year 2024
The choice of Elite as the Door and Window Experts Website Product of the Year 2024 is not just a recognition of the product itself but also the company behind it. Aluco’s present owners were pioneers in the UK market, introducing the first timber-look PVCu window with Evolution. That same vision and innovation are evident in Elite, a system that raises the bar for steel-look windows and doors.
Images courtesy of Sherbone Windows, premier Aluco Installer in Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and London.
