£1000 for your old windows
The Glass & Glazing Federation (GGF) has petitioned the government to introduce a scrappage scheme, whereby householders are encouraged to scrap their old poorly insulated windows in return for a £1,000 grant towards the installation of new, professionally installed, energy efficient ones. The petition has been set up through the ePetition Scheme on the Official website of
the Prime Minister’s Office at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage
The benefits of this scheme for window manufacturers, suppliers and installers would be increased sales and a reversal in the downward trend in the number of installed windows and doors. Consumers would save £1,000 and enjoy a facelift to their homes, along with lower fuel bills and more energy efficient homes. And the government would benefit from reduced emissions from the
existing housing stock, helping it to meet the necessary greenhouse gas emissions targets. The government would also reclaim some of the grant money in VAT.
“Energy Efficient Windows (EEWs) have a huge role to play in improving the thermal performance of the existing housing stock,” Nigel Rees, Chief Executive of the GGF, explained. “EEWs can reduce emissions by 10% from dwellings nationally and reduce national domestic energy expenditure by 10%.
“The glass and window industry represents over 100,000 employees. Currently direct sell windows and doors fell by 12% in 2008 and a further 14% in 2009. The forecast is for a further 10% drop in 2010. In 2008 FENSA registered 880,831 installations made up of 3,292,437 windows and 761,054 doors. The GGF strongly believes that the proposals to incentivise the professional installation
of new energy efficient windows are the only logical way forward.”
Five hundred signatures are needed to take the petition to the next stage. Given the size of the industry, and the popularity of WERs, the GGF expects the petition to receive many more signatures than that. We at Edgetech urge you to consider signing the petition by clicking the link overleaf in support of this worthy initiative that could be of immense benefit to our industry. 500 signatures are required to ensure that the petition receives official consideration but GGF sees no reason why 10,000+ cannot be
achieved; Whitehall would really have to take notice then!
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