Buildingtalk - Energy Efficiency feature

Andy Jones, MD of warm edge spacer supplier Edgetech and Neil Schofield, head of sustainable development at Worcester Bosch discuss 'Energy Efficiency' in an interview with Buildingtalk.

In the first in a new series where Buildingtalk Editor Howard Chapman will be putting issues that affect all of us within construction under the spotlight and comparing and contrasting how different sectors deal with them, we turn our attention to Energy Efficiency.

Representing the glazing industry, is Andy Jones, Managing Director of leading warm edge spacer supplier Edgetech, and on behalf of the heating sector, is Neil Schofield, head of sustainable development of leading domestic heating product manufacturer Worcester, Bosch Group.

Howard Chapman: Concern for the environment and improving the thermal efficiency for our buildings are critical business drivers for anyone involved in the home improvement and building sectors.

But it appears some parts of the construction sector are further developed than others in this respect.

What have been the key drivers and developments in heating and glazing? .

Neil Schofield: The heating industry is one of the areas of the building sector where concern for the environment has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade.

In terms of energy efficiency itself, it all started around ten years ago when the Energy Saving Trust led the way by introducing grants for condensing boilers.

This is when people first became aware of carbon emissions and their harmful effects.

Shortly after this, in September 1999, the SEDBUK efficiency scale was introduced.

SEDBUK was developed under the Government's Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme with the co-operation of boiler manufacturers, and provides a basis for fair comparison of the energy performance of different boilers.

The purpose of the project was to develop a method for calculating seasonal efficiency for individual central heating boilers to use in the UK Building Regulations, Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power).

This little blue book of boilers had clear winners and losers and it went a long way to creating a healthy competition between manufacturers to make their products more energy efficient".

Andy Jones: As an outsider looking in, the heating sector seems to have made more strides, more quickly on energy efficiency compared with the glazing industry.

While we've undergone a similar evolution through a combination of legislative measures and voluntary industry initiatives, we didn't really get going collectively until 2004.

The industry exhibition Glassex in March of that year was the venue for the launch of a new route to compliance: Window Energy Ratings (WERs) administered by the British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC), an independent government-supported body.

Welcomed as a more reliable and relevant measure of the total performance of a window than the simplistic U-value previously used, WERs offered the industry a more easily understandable and attractive commercial proposition.

From a technical perspective, they are also a more accurate indicator of the energy performance of a window because they take a range of factors into account, including the window's total solar heat transmittance (usually referred to as g value), U value and air infiltration.

Performance is then rated on an A-G scale.

But the real drivers behind WERs are their commercial and marketing value, not just the technical features.

Any company whose windows are rated by an approved BFRC assessor and achieve a C rating or better are allowed to carry the coveted Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) logo from the EST.

Forward thinking companies grabbed hold of the opportunity to use the device to differentiate themselves and sell more windows ahead of the rest, even though WERs weren't included in the DCLG's revision to Part L Approved Document until 2006.

Howard Chapman: Although the markets have obviously developed differently, it strikes me that both Edgetech and Worcester Bosch have something in common.

You both appear to have actively embraced new initiatives and proposed regulations, before they became legislation.

How true is this?.

Neil Schofield: "When the Government started to suggest there would be moves to condensing before the Building Regulations changed, Worcester embraced these views.

It was our serious aspiration to make condensing boilers the popular choice, so we heavily invested in making these high efficiency appliances.

The most significant day in the energy efficiency calendar for domestic heating was 1 April 2004.

The Government put its foot down and made changes to Part L of the Building Regulations, setting deadlines for the industry to only allow future boiler installations to be high efficiency condensing boilers, reaching a minimum of a B rating on the SEDBUK scale (86-90% efficiency).

This ruling was introduced for gas appliances in April 2005, and April 2007 for oil.

Andy Jones: Looking at the glazing sector it's absolutely apparent that those companies who recognised the commercial benefits of marketing more energy efficiency products - regardless of legislation - are now reaping the rewards.

There are now three alternative ways of demonstrating compliance.

These are by achieving (1) a whole window U value of 2.0 W/m2K for PVC-U or timber windows, 2.2 for aluminium or (2) a glass centre pane U value of 1.2 or (3) a Window Energy Rating of band E for replacement windows and band D for windows installed in extensions and new build.

But those businesses that were among the first to exceed these basic, legal requirements have benefited commercially through marketing the difference, as well of course as being technically future proofed for when legislation becomes more stringent.

Since day one, Edgetech has invested significant amounts of resources in trying to educate the industry about the benefits of WERs and ESR products to sell to homeowners.

In fact in May 2006 we organised and chaired a glazing industry wide seminar at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry Increase your profits: Energy Efficiency in Focus on precisely these issues.

Attended by over 200, speakers included representatives from the BFRC, EST and the then ODPM.

This was also a seminal moment for Edgetech's industry wide campaign Your Industry Needs YOU! Reduce the VAT on ESR windows which still do not qualify for the same VAT relief enjoyed by other ESR products - like boilers.

Howard Chapman: So it seems like both organisations have been instrumental in raising awareness of the issues and providing solutions, both technically and from a marketing perspective, so why is the heating sector generally more advanced than glazing in terms of energy efficiency? Why for example do ESR boilers get VAT relief when windows don't? Why don't we see full page colour ads in the Sunday papers with windows carrying the ESR label, just like white goods?.

Neil Schofield: One of the main reasons we are so far down the line in terms of energy conservation, compared to say the glazing industry, is because heating is responsible for 73% of carbon emissions from the home.

This of course meant we had to be a key area to focus on.

The legislation that came in has made it mandatory for domestic heating to be more environmentally friendly.

It has proven that if you want significant changes the Government has to be brave.

The reason the changes have been so successful is because everyone was in support of the plan and the communication between the whole supply chain was well considered.

Andy Jones: I think Neil has put his finger on it here.

It's a question of communication - or lack of it - from the EST, through the glazing supply chain, to the installer and homeowner, combined with a reticence to embrace change.

True, the impact of thermally inefficient heating does have more impact on the building envelope, but according to the EST around 20% of the heat loss in an average home occurs through the windows.

Edgetech has had many meetings with the EST over the last few years and indeed we now sit on the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes Glazing Strategy Group.

But it hasn't always been that easy.

At first, we encountered a total lack of understanding at EST level about how disparate and fragmented the window industry is.

In the UK, there are more than 9,500 installers, 70% of all windows installed in the replacement market are supplied by companies with a turnover of less than three million.

There was fear about loss of control and damaging the EST brand which I totally understand, but I think the perception of glazing is still unfairly, one of a sector not to be totally trusted at decision or policy making level.

I think this could be one of the drivers behind the glazing sector not being fully embraced into the 'energy efficient product club' where 'members' enjoy reduced VAT rates when selling their products in the home, and benefit from national advertising campaigns to raise awareness.

I agree totally with Neil that the Government needs to brave in its approach and that's one of the reasons Edgetech has been lobbying hard as an organisation with our industry campaign and also via our trade associations to get our voice heard.

We were especially delighted that in Clause 7.71 Brown's final Budget as Chancellor he asserted: 'Energy efficient windows have a major role to play in reducing household energy use and increasing the energy efficiency of existing homes.

The Government supports the development of energy efficient glazing technology, and welcomes the introduction of the British Fenestration Rating Council's Window Energy Rating System, which has been endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust.

The Government will carefully monitor the progress of this rating system and developments in the market, and will work with the industry and manufacturers to explore the case and scope for incentives to encourage the installation of energy efficient glazing.

While comments like this cannot be taken as definitive, this is one of the most concrete commitments we've had from Government to date, an indication that we will see either carrot or stick being used to encourage the growth of ESR windows.

Neil Schofield: Andy mentioned the importance of installers.

The same is true in our sector.

That's why the government also funded a training programme - a City and Guilds Energy Efficiency Certificate - which really helped to get the installers on board, probably the hardest group to convince and because they're the direct route to market, probably the most important.

Through this training programme, they were made to feel 'involved' in the decision and they were properly educated about the reasons.

This went a long way to making it a smooth transition.

Howard Chapman: Obviously an issue here that's here to stay, how do you both see future developments concerning energy efficiency developing across your markets? Neil Schofield "After a few years of real progress, the situation has reached a plateau and we're not seeing much in the way of changes apart from the code for sustainable homes, where developers must be building zero carbon homes by 2016.

Although this is positive, new homes will only ever account for 1% of the housing market.

There's nothing new on the horizon for existing homes, which we feel is a missed opportunity for making further impact with domestic carbon reductions.

The grant scheme to reward homeowners investing in renewable technologies in their own home, the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, is now grinding to a halt because they've over complicated it and it runs out next year with nothing in its place.

"We are lobbying for the Government to put forward further grant schemes and would also recommend they encourage householders - perhaps through council tax banding adjustments, VAT reduction or stamp duty tax breaks to recognise where people have gone that extra mile, so they get some kind of physical reward for their efforts.

The best way to do this is through the energy performance certificates in the HIPs (Home Information Packs), which are an excellent vehicle to promote new technologies.

But we'll see what happens.

"I don't think there is much doubt it will be pretty much business as usual until at least 2015 to 2020 for domestic heating.

The market is set for boiler sales to continue at the current rate.

We will see in new build, a move away from gas - looking more at electric heating with ground and air source heat pumps but this will be gradual over a number of years.

As more and more installers in the normal route to market are trained and educated, we see the biggest potential growth area will be replacing a standard efficiency boiler with a condensing model and pairing it with thermal solar panels for hot water heating".

Andy Jones: One of the most positive things about being behind compared to others sectors is that we've got a lot of ground to make up, awareness and sales to grow, and opportunities to create.

Energy efficiency in glazing is still developing quickly and rather than a plateau, I believe we're heading for the tipping point where superior energy efficient glazing with C rating as the benchmark will soon be mass market.

But just like with boilers, it won't stand still and the A rating as standard will follow.

Currently, according to the BFRC, 525 windows are now rated and we expect this to at least double during 2008.

We'll be keeping one eye on the more mature markets in this respect like heating and ventilation.

I believe one of our key challenges will be whether as an industry we allow legislation to overtake us and remove the commercial advantage of acting sooner rather than later by offering energy conscious consumers what they want now.

We've already seen in the Building Regulations Energy Efficiency requirements for new dwellings - A forward look at what standards may be in 2010 and 2013 that the DCLG is proposing windows should have an average U-value of 0-.9 W/m2K; high performance triple glazed with soft coat, low e glazing, argon filled and warm edge technology like Super Spacer.

Edgetech is committed to continuing to work with industry, Government, the EST and the Energy Efficiency Advice Centres to ensure that glazing doesn't continue to be treated as the poor cousin within construction, and that we exploit the commercial and environmental benefits of ESR windows now".

With thanks to:.

Edgetech and Worcester, Bosch Group in preparing this feature.

Edgetech's Super Spacer, with built in energy saving, is a no-metal, pre-desiccated, structural foam spacer system.

Its award winning, patented Thermo Set Structural (TSS) technology gives the ultimate in high performance spacer systems.

Since it was first introduced in 1989, Super Spacer has become the dominant force in thermally efficient spacer systems winning two awards for energy efficiency.

Edgetech has the only dedicated Warm Edge Technology (WET) extrusion facility in the UK.

More people are choosing Super Spacer for its superb built in energy saving performance, its productivity - sealed units produced every 23 seconds and its marketing support package for every level of the supply chain.

Andy Jones, Managing Director of Edgetech UK, is available to comment on the energy efficiency of windows.

For more information: Stonebridge House, Rowley Drive, Stonebridge Trading Estate, Coventry CV3 4FG.

TEL: 08700 566 844 www.superspacer.co.uk .

Worcester, Bosch Group is one of the leading manufacturers of gas and oil boilers in the UK.

The company has also expanded its product portfolio to include renewable heating technologies: the Greenskies Solar water heating system and Greenstore Ground Source Heat Pumps, which provide an environmentally friendly solution to domestic heating and hot water.

For more information about all of Worcester's products, training and services contact 01905 754 624 or visit www.worcester-bosch.co.uk.

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