How do I comply with the new regulations from 1 October? This is the question which we are still being asked; we have known and published the details of the new requirements since they were published at the end of April – ie replacement windows need to be WER B and C rated or better or whole window U-value 1.6. The centre pane U-value is not accepted as a method to show compliance for the majority of replacement windows. The BFRC WER approach has been in existence for over 10 years, with the Authorised Retailer scheme and Licence of Addition; the route for covering your products is now very comprehensive. More details are available from www.bfrc.org If you want to use the ...

New Technology For Clean Solar Energy - Peer Plus With dwindling resources and global warming, sustainable, clean energy should be a priority. One innovative company has made it theirs and is developing solar windows. Windows give homes and buildings aesthetic appeal and connect them to the outdoors while bringing the world inside. They also give access to natural light and solar warmth and are often designed to be placed where they will allow maximum sunlight to enter a home or building. Hence, windows are also ideal locations on a structure to place solar panels that collect and transfer energy from light. This smart concept is captured by an innovative company called Peer Plus, based in the Netherlands, ...

The Government has responded to the Window Scrappage Scheme petition The Government agrees that energy efficiency has an important part to play if we are to achieve our carbon reduction targets. The benefits of energy efficiency for households are clear: saving money on energy bills, reducing reliance on imported energy and helping householders reduce their carbon emissions. However given the high cost of replacement windows (typically £5,000 to £10,000 for a small home), the marginal improvement in performance, particularly when replacing like-for-like double glazed windows; and given that band C windows will be the minimum standard permitted by building regulations from October 2010, a window scrappage scheme is unlikely to be cost effective on energy efficiency and carbon savings grounds. We believe ...

The Government has indicated that its flagship energy efficiency scheme, which will enable homeowners to upgrade their properties without incurring upfront costs, is not expected to become available until the end of 2012. The Green Deal is a central plank of the Coalition Government’s green strategy and aims to encourage mass adoption of energy efficiency measures across UK homes. It will introduce a 'pay as you save' scheme that means energy efficiency work could be repaid through a charge on a home’s energy meter offset by the savings made on fuel bills. In a statement issued yesterday, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said the Green Deal "is expected to be available in late 2012". The Government has said little officially ...

Making savings The recent Energy Review stated that UK homes are emitting 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 and wasting £370 million every year through low and poorly insulated windows In 2004 carbon emissions from UK dwellings were 39.5 million tonnes. If energy efficient windows were fitted, 10% of emissions would be saved. Consumers can make significant savings if they replace their poorly insulated windows. Installing Energy Efficient Windows in a single-glazed dwelling would save £156.60 per year on energy bills (up to £266 in an electrically heated house) and in a doubleglazed dwelling would save £79.80 a year The Glazing Strategy Group (GSG) of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes (EEPH) currently sees its focus of making the WER band C the industry norm, but as Government, climate change, financial and competitive pressures grow, it is anticipated that the challenge will ...