Why Part L is irrelevant
Energy efficiency should be the driver for U Values on doors, not the Building Regs, says Apeer boss Asa McGillian.
There has been much discussion in the press about the uplift in U values defined in the soon to be revised Part L of the Building Regulations.
In case you haven’t heard, as of 15 June this year, all residential doors installed in existing buildings, must offer U Values of 1.4 W/m2K, an improvement of as much as 0.4 W/m2K compared to the previous requirements.
To my mind, this is a rather moderate improvement and I for one maintain that most of us in the composite door manufacturing sector can produce doors that comfortably outperform this statutory requirement.
Overwhelming circumstances are combining to make the statutory figure irrelevant anyway. As I write, average energy bills are predicted to rise to £3,000 a year by October, according to Energy UK. For many – and especially amongst the households that represents prime home improvers – this figure will be considerably higher.
Dinner-party discussions inevitably turn to matters of the home and once the incredible escalation in house prices is covered, invariably the chatter becomes fevered around the cost of energy and what may be done about it.
With such a focus amongst many of our core potential customers, we must switch our focus from shades of eggshell and multipoint locking, to the energy efficiency of our products. And in doing so, we must treat the standard mandated by Part L of the Building Regulations for what it is: a minimum value, not a performance target for the door industry.
There are few winners in the various crises that are blighting our planet, when we appear to be bouncing from one catastrophe to another, created both naturally and through human intervention. But we must adapt to ensure that we as businesses can shape our products and services to better suit and appeal to our markets.
And in the current climate (pun intended) that means optimising our doors to provide the highest possible insulation values, not the minimums dictated by law; and of course, communicating to our potential customers just how they may benefit from buying and installing them.
It would of course be remiss of me to fail to mention that we have recently achieved A++ ratings on our latest range of Apeer doors, a value that makes them the most efficient in the market currently. Our composite doors are the most energy efficient than they have ever been, and I believe we should refocus on this to stimulate sales.
Whilst the promise of improved security is also a very good selling point for a new entrance door, with low maintenance and draught elimination high on the list of justifiers, aesthetics still dominates the buying drivers for our products. We have responded well as an industry in providing some excellent solutions in terms of colour, finish and detailing, with the homeowner able to specify the finest detail through the many door design apps.
But restoring energy efficiency to the many qualities that compel homeowners to buy our doors in their thousands every year, will only help to build sales further. And to prove that after all, we are not just offering a pretty face.
