Backing Rehau’s Retrofit Right campaign
By David Thornton, chairman, The Window Company (Contracts).
It was great to read Rehau UK CEO Martin Hitchin’s recent comments on the company’s whitepaper ‘Retrofit Right – Making Social Housing More Energy Efficient’.
He referenced the important role that specialist commercial installers like The Window Company (Contracts) have to play in providing expertise and filling the knowledge gaps which undoubtedly exist in HAs and local authorities when it comes to choosing the right energy efficient solutions for their retrofit applications.
Martin is absolutely right to argue that there’s a big education challenge ahead to communicate how effectively higher spec PVC-U frames can transform the warmth and efficiency of homes ahead of the requirement for social housing properties to achieve a minimum of a C in EPCs by 2035 (or 2030 for fuel poor households).
However, the reality is that cost is still quite rightly one of the biggest factors for HAs and local authorities in deciding how to spend council tax payers’ money. Regardless of any measurable improvements in performance that high spec frames can deliver, we can’t ignore the enormous impact that cost has on any replacement window and door scheme.
As I see it, the real educational challenge comes around communicating what value for money really looks like in retrofit window and doors – and that includes the long term durability of the products and the quality of the installation, as well as the thermal performance and energy savings achievable.
When it comes to products, we are great believers in organising factory visits for social housing buyers – either to the fabricator or the systems company or both. In our experience, it’s only when buyers see how advanced the process can be and the design, quality and attention to detail which separates the best from the rest that they start to appreciate the value inherent in a strong supply chain.
It’s also important for us to make clients aware of the qualifications and accreditations that make one installation company more valuable than another. For instance, only an installer with PAS2030 accreditation can be used for installations funded under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Scheme (SHDF) and only an installer with third party fire door accreditation training can be used for fire door installation.
The Window Company (Contracts) holds both of these, along with BSI Kitemarks for installation and training, and I can’t overestimate how much weight they carry when we are asking clients to trust our advice and recommendations.
Rehau’s view in its whitepaper is that businesses like ours should try to establish themselves as supportive, consultative partners to social housing decisionmakers as the retrofitting boom gathers pace. Our ongoing success, with year on year growth of around 20% over the past five years, would suggest that is certainly true – and of course it brings with it all the associated benefits in terms of improved housing stock, lower carbon emissions and ultimately, lower energy bills for residents.