Clearview National December 2015 - Issue 169 | Page 77

CONSERVATORIES

Leading the Way
with Thermal Ratings
»»Leading conservatory roof
manufacturer, Ultraframe is set to shake up
the mindset of the conservatory and orangery
industry yet again, with the introduction of
its new thermal rating scheme, which the
company is hoping will become the new
‘Industry Standard’, and also through the
launch of its consumer based marketing
campaign; educating homeowners of the best
choice of roofing system to cater for their
energy efficiency needs.
Clearview Editor, Stephanie Wright recently
visited Ultraframe to discuss the launch of the
two initiatives.
Greeted by Steve McIntyre, Ultraframe’s
Marketing Director, I was led into
Ultraframe’s impressive showroom, well more
like a tardis!
Ultraframe’s site is snugly situated in the
centre of what appears to be a residential area,
and on entering the reception area it is hard to
appreciate the magnitude of Ultraframe’s site,
until your inside - housed in a state-of-the-art
300,000 sqft facility.
The purpose of our meeting was to enable
Ultraframe to present what they believe to be
a huge turning point in the perception and
ratings of thermal values for conservatories
and orangeries.
As the leading specialists of conservatory
roofs in the industry, they felt that the
industry lacked focus and understanding when
advising consumers on the thermal benefits
and ratings of conservatories.
Steve advised: “We decided to conduct
a survey of homeowners to establish their
concerns, desires and motivations behind
home improvements and in conjunction
with consumer survey experts were able to
understand the needs of the consumer better.

“As the industry will know, we have always
been a proactive campaigner to bring the
consumer into the loop when it comes to
informing them about the products available.
Our consumer marketing campaigns have
never sat on the side of passiveness, and we
know that today’s consumer is even more
savvy than ever before with the explosion of
the digital age.
“So, the survey was imperative to keep
abreast of what the consumer’s thought
processes are, even if they are not in a position
to make a home improvement purchase
immediately, it was important to get a feel for
their views.”
The results from the survey saw the
engagement of over 10,000 homeowners, and
supplied some interesting statistics.
Biggest ‘home related’
concerns?
• 34% Energy bills
• 26% Space
• 25% No Concerns
Motivation
• 59% to improve their living space
• 39% to improve energy efficiency
• 35% are driven to improving their home
for the need of more space
• 23% are prompted to change due to a
change in family set up
When it came to the type of home
improvement homeowners would carry out,
a conservatory or orangery came out on top
with 16% indicated as their preferred first
choice.
When questioned ‘How important is
thermal efficiency to your home extension?’

95% agreed that this was an important
feature, with a high proportion wanting the
extension to be a liveable and usable area, all
year round.
These figures plus that of Ultraframe’s
own consumer research, which incidentally
saw over 50,000 consumers visiting and
using its product selector in the last 12
months, prompted Ultraframe to research in
more depth the way in which it presents its
products to the market place and hi-lighted
more the need to assist both the installer
and end-user with clear guidelines on energy
ratings and thermal efficiency.
Steve continued: “With such overwhelming
statistics, it would have been wrong of us to
just ignore the needs of the consumer and this
is why, with the technical research we have
conducted to establish the new thermal rating
standards, we will be presenting them to the
GGF (Glass and Glazing Federation) to seek
approval in disseminating our findings and
suggest they be used as a basis to implement
an industry standard for conservatories and
orangeries.”
To back up its campaign and support
the trade, Ultraframe is set to provide
a selection of POS material, including
performance rating cards for all of its
products, brochures, full technical and sales
support. This is further enhanced by a
consumer-facing, simple to use,