Product category:
Glass
News Release from: Glass and Glazing Federation
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 07 June 2006
Launch of BFRC
Launch of BFRC under Glass and Glazing Federation direction speech by new Chairman, Robert Aitken
under Glass and Glazing Federation Direction Speech by new Chairman, Robert Aitken: Firstly I would like to welcome you to the re-launch of the BFRC We very much appreciate you taking time to attend this important initiative
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 26 Sep 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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I am Robert Aitken, presently Chairman of the Home Improvements Executive which represents the householder sector for windows, doors, conservatories and fascias soffits and barge boards within the GGF, and a director and recent past chairman of FENSA.
I am proud to have been asked to be the first Chair of the new BFRC I am joined on this section of the presentation by Ian Chisholm, Deputy Chief Executive of the GGF and Company Secretary for BFRC whom many of you will know well.
Ian will help me answer any questions you may have in due course.
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BFRC and what it has achieved
Kevin Cubbage Chairman October 1997 - May 2006 speaks about the BFRC and What it has achieved.
Beyond welcomes and introductions, the first serious message is to express our thanks and congratulations to Kevin Cubbage and Robin Kent for their visionary work in setting up, developing and promoting the BFRC and the window energy rating concept and methodology.
The coverage that the BFRC has achieved in the UK on such limited resources is down to their commitment and pioneering the programme.
Within GGF we have been aware of this and done what we could to help for a number of years, but the real effort and credit is down to Kevin and Robin They have received a great deal of support from the businesses operating as simulators to test windows against the rating criteria on behalf of applicants and BFRC.
The recent inclusion of the BFRC Window Energy Rating in the latest edition of Part L of Building Regulations as an alternative means of compliance shows how far Energy Ratings have come.
However they have a long way to go as well.
Energy usage considerations are coming more and more to the forefront of peoples' consideration as the price of energy to the householder has rocketed and is expected to continue to rise in the future by rates well above inflation.
Even more important is the environmental impact in terms of release of CO2 and resultant global warming from energy use in general and, in particular, wastage from the building stock.
The domestic window replacement industry and GGF in particular have been "doing their bit" on this for many years.
Long before energy performance of windows replacement was defined and regulated at all for the domestic market the industry, wholly without regulation for energy performance, was routinely fitting windows with a U-value of averaging around 2.6-2.8, significantly better than the regulation for new build at that time of 3.3.
With the advent of Part L, with which we co-operated closely with Government, this has now dropped for replacement to a U value of 2.0 or band E or better on window rating.
We have agreed policing policys with government to make sure this happens and set up FENSA to carry out that function.
So the sometimes maligned domestic window replacement industry has in fact a record to be proud of in this area, outside and within the regulatory umbrella .
But there is much more to do and in the replacement sector where the householder has a choice of where to commit their hard-earned disposable cash, we must bring the consumer along with us if we are to meet the needs of society.
BFRC is the right body to carry on that pioneering work on energy saving and we are proud that Kevin, Robin and the simulators group have entrusted that to us to move it forward.
Thank you for listening.
If any of you have questions between us we will do our best to answer them.
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