Each Home Counts review is a step in the right direction for the insulation industry

The Each Home Counts review was recently published by the UK government, considering issues surrounding the retrofitting of the energy efficiency and renewable energy measures into our homes.

Stories were being run in newspapers, TV and radio and MPs were asking questions in Parliament, following concerns that badly installed insulation measures were causing problems with damp and resulting in failure to deliver the expected energy savings. As a result, Government ministers soon demanded that something be done to protect the consumer.

It was evident that changes needed to be made in order to make the retrofit market’s poorly performing ‘bad apples’ raise their standards to acceptable levels. ROCKWOOL helped ensure that the insulation industry sorts itself out and restores confidence in insulation measures by supporting and engaging with the review.

The Government’s Each Home Counts review aims to introduce a Quality Mark for the design and installation of all energy efficiency measures, which will include:

•  A consumer charter, including a clear redress procedures for customers with problems.
• A code of conduct for all companies operating in this sector.
• New technical standards and codes of practice for the design and installation of measures.
• An information hub for both consumers and industry to access best practice.
• A data warehouse allowing access to better data on individual homes.
• Improved engagement with consumers, raising awareness.
• Better training to build up knowledge and competences within industry.
• Stronger monitoring, compliance and enforcement to ensure poor quality work is dealt with effectively.

The review is a step in the right direction but there is still considerable work ahead to develop the Quality Mark Scheme and the extensive framework of processes and approvals needed to support it.

ROCKWOOL’s engagement with the Government, the industry and the scientific community is set to continue and take around two years. ROCKWOOL is playing a major role in the revision of the ‘PAS’ standards, currently.

The next phase of ECO will start in May and significant changes are already in the pipeline, relating to design, building surveys, training and site inspections. Installers will face challenging requirements with the new PAS rules for all ECO work, requiring installers to check that every aspect of the insulation measures they fit has been adequately designed and that it is clear where design liability lies.

In addition, the minimum amount of properly trained and certified installers and supervisors required on each site will increase as will the number of site inspections by independent monitors aiming to prevent poor performance.

The next two years are likely to be very busy before the Quality Mark itself will be ready for launch. However, when it is, we can look forward to preventing companies from cutting corners and building government support for the industry and renewing consumer confidence.

ROCKWOOL is engaging with the process and supporting it as much as possible, as it believes it is a step forward for the insulation industry.

Contact:

ROCKWOOL,
Pencoed,
Bridgend,
United Kingdom,
CF35 6NY

Phone: 01635 862621
Fax: 01656 862302

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