Clearly, the vast majority of people in the window and door industry support the Window Energy Rating Scheme. The feedback from the floor at GlassTalk certainly supported this with most installers suggesting they felt the scheme was an opportunity for the industry.
The WER ‘on the couch’ discussion tackled various questions people had, and Giles Willson put forward a very strong case for the scheme which was well supported from the floor.
One question remains unanswered though. Kevin Ahern from Osprey Windows has been asking for months for the BFRC to supply the scientific evidence for which the solar gain element of the scheme has been derived. I asked the question to Giles from the floor as to why he can’t give Kevin this information, but unfortunately there was no answer to this question.
After the event, Kevin and I chatted and we agreed that probably it was time to move on as the WER scheme is now written into law anyway.
However, it is clear that there is still a significant groundswell of people from the industry are suspicious of the solar gain element of the WER scheme. Here’s some of the comments on the GlassTalk website:
Roy Vassie:
I believe the show of hands from the floor clearly showed the majority are in favor of a rating system as it would clearly benefit all, but I think if you had asked for a show of hands asking ‘do you trust the current method of arriving at the ratings’ the result would have been a resounding NO as they are plainly not backed by clearly provable measurement criteria.
I think if that problem was resolved the vast majority would be 100% behind the scheme. The reason many currently would not be is because they are unconvinced that the statistics are honestly provable and believe there is a hidden agenda behind the method of calculating it.
Resolve that and there is no moral dilemma.
Terry Leach:
If there is scepticism about the tachnical data that has been provided then of course we should challenge the whole credibility of the scheme prior to its insception in October, once the scheme has begun and the general public start to raise issues about the credibility then we really will be up shit creek without a paddle, do we think that the BFRC will be arsed about any flak thats fired our way?
Adrian Green:
Come on guys, get a grip. I am just a small time timber producer who has always argued that WERs are purely for box tickers and salespeople. There is no doubt that standards will and have risen as a result, but to include solar gain in the calculation is as crazy as making a hole in the top of your A++ window, covering it with aluminium, and calling it a tricklevent!
For all the criticism to go away then surely the most sensible solution is for someone at the BFRC to supply the required information about the science behind the solar gain calculation to Kevin Ahern and the wider industry.
I already sell energy rated windows, and I believe that the window energy rating scheme is a far simpler way of demonstrating to consumers the comparative performance of various window systems. But as long as there is a major question mark over the science behind it, then it’s difficult for me to fully support the scheme.
