14 | NOVEMBER 2021
News
Read online at www . proinstaller . co . uk
ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS NET ZERO ?
Just over 50 years ago , someone famously said ‘ one small step for a man , one giant leap for mankind ’ ( and the same phrase has been infamously used to open countless magazine articles ever since ). But , just as the Space Race was all-consuming - and never without controversy - in the 1950s , 60s and 70s ; the hot topic of the 2000s , 10s and 20s ( last year not withstanding ) must be Climate Change ( with two capital Cs ).
Calling on mankind to make a giant leap towards new ways of working and living ( or away from old , less sustainable ways ) will require many steps from all of us . Whether those steps are made as initiatives and incentives from the ‘ top down ’, adopting new methods and adapting to them by everyone else and a general ‘ stepping up ’ for all involved ; if the future really is to be green , all these small steps will add up .
In mid-October , the lead story of many news channels was the Heat and Buildings Strategy perhaps not as exciting as Armstrong and Aldrin , but something that certainly caught the attention of home and business owners across the UK . Following on from the Renewable Heat Incentive ( RHI ); the Heat and Buildings Strategy claims to offer a grant of up to £ 5,000 to those switching to a lower-carbon heat source for their properties .
For savvy home and business owners , builders , facility managers , architects and specifiers , the grant is - yes - an incentive . But , in addition to the offered grant ; cleaner , greener energy , plus potentially lower heating bills long term have both been reward enough for many already wanting to make the switch . Long before the Government explained its Heat and Buildings Strategy , heating sources , boilers , water tanks and radiators that are powered by non-fossil fuel sources have been installed across homes , businesses and multi-occupancy properties . Moreover , just as the ( now debunked ) Green Homes Grant initially seemed as though it might ‘ win more work ’ for certain installation companies ( of course , the reality was a lot more complicated ) when it comes to sustainable heat sources and renewable energy for homes and buildings , the more uptake there is from consumers , the more companies will be required to meet this demand ; therefore creating an incentive for the property owner or manager that ’ s kinder on the purse and kinder on the planet , but also a
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lucrative business opportunity for manufacturers and installers .
The crossover for fenestration companies is actually closer and stronger than you may have first thought . At the Glazing Summit 2021 , the topic “ Is it time to embrace a sustainable future ? - Tackling climate change is now centre-stage as the world moves to a sustainable future . But are we as an industry really embracing sustainability , and if so , are we conveying our sustainable credentials to homeowners ?” was indeed fascinating , with the panel explaining how – as businesses they strive for sustainability in their own processes , and have spent millions in new methods to cut down waste and refine the way the work .
The subject also included a caveat that for all we are expected to do internally – and for the most part accept readily – door and window companies broadly do not market their energy efficiency , sustainability and recycling rates anywhere near as much as any other sector . In fact , one panel member commented that buyers perhaps would not like the fact that their uPVC window frames contain recycled ‘ crap ’. Would an ‘ alternative ’ approach therefore , such as affiliating yourself with an alternative heat pumps and energy company assist in ‘ nailing your colours to the mast ’ for brands and businesses on sustainability and energy efficiency ? For fenestration companies that spend a lot of time ( and money ) on the design and development of energy efficient doors , windows , hardware et al , alternative heat pumps and energy could not only add extra revenue to a business ’ s order books , but could also be the cherry on top of an eco-friendly , ultra efficient home at a
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