» FOLLOWING THE cancellation of the Green Homes Grant initiative earlier this year , FENSA ’ s Director of Membership , Chris Beedel and GGF Chief Development Officer , Anda Gregory hit the airwaves the length and breadth of the UK – from Aberdeenshire ’ s Deveron FM to BBC Three Counties Radio to raise awareness of the crucial role of glazing in improving energy efficiency in our homes , and in turn , meeting the government ’ s ambitious net zero targets .

Speaking live on air , Chris said : “ As one of the glazing industry ’ s leading voices , along with our parent organisation , the Glass and Glazing Federation , we ’ re looking to provide the government with a solution to their Green Homes Grant problems , in terms of making homes more energy efficient and helping future schemes really become the major success that they should be .”

Anda added : “ Glazing really can make a positive impact on energy efficiency for all of us , as homeowners or renters , by

reducing the requirement for heating , and in turn , reducing heating bills .”

While glazing was included in the Green Homes Grant scheme as a secondary measure , FENSA continues to lobby for it to be made a primary concern in any future government initiatives .

Anda continued : “ As well as energy efficiency benefits , new windows and doors can also make a property look amazing , and generally improve a resident ’ s quality of life , by reducing noise pollution and increasing security , for example .

“ Windows and doors should be front and centre of any future ‘ green ’ scheme because they pull people in with these added benefits – which you don ’ t get from ‘ behind the scenes ’ type energy efficiency measures , such as loft insulation .”

While the Green Homes Grant scheme sparked confusion among consumers and installers , FENSA is also calling for any future initiative to be simplified for both parties .

Anda added : “ Any qualifying criteria for installers needs to be realistic and we believe that being

a FENSA Approved Installer should more than suffice for any scheme that might be launched in the future . This would enable a much wider take-up and increase availability of installers – a big win for consumers as well .”

Unlike the Green Homes Grant , which allowed only single to double replacement glazing , FENSA also maintains that any future scheme should permit replacing old double glazing with new , due to the energy efficiency benefits created by the technical advances of recent years .

FENSA also suggests cutting VAT on labour to 5 % to incentivise more installers to sign up to any future scheme , and more consumers to use it , voicing these suggestions live on air .

www . fensa . org . uk