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IN RECENT YEARS , there ’ s no doubt that energy efficiency has been a principal driver in shaping our fenestration market , leading to a significant improvement in product performance standards and enhanced credibility for our resourceful industry in the eyes of UK consumers .

Now we ’ ve all got over the initial shock of the Brexit referendum result , are things going to change radically as Britain prepares to stand proudly alone as a sovereign island nation ?

The answer must be “ no ”, but this is down to the undoubted strength of our Window Energy Ratings ( WER ) infrastructure . Conformity to European standards compliance and CE Marking regulations will remain firmly in place , however within the established European framework the practical implementation of our authoritative WER classifications is widely admired and , crucially , now well understood by industry professionals and informed homeowners alike .

What has happened in the last few years is “ goodbye ” to industry-standard C WERs and “ hello ” to A WERs as our sales and marketing norm – this has been a major revolution in repositioning our UK window industry as leading champions of energy-efficiency in the home improvement arena .

At Victorian Sliders , as Europe ’ s largest specialist manufacturer of PVCu vertical sliding sash windows , we use 100 % virgin , lead-free compound to extrude ,

fabricate and supply A-rated ECOSlide windows to 2,300 professional trade installation companies operating across the length and breadth of the UK . So the company supplies 30 % of the 7,500 installers that regularly “ buy-in ” PVCu vertical sliding windows for home improvement jobs or new housebuilding needs ( source : Insight Data ). Why is this product offering so successful ? Well , the true answer is that commercial success is due to a variety of factors , but one of the major clues lies in the name : “ ECOSlide ” … Here is an energyefficient

and environmentallyfriendly ( fully-recyclable ) product , that comfortably meets today ’ s needs and anticipates emerging homeowner concerns in the future .

We can supply A + rated ECOSlide windows if required , but the simple truth is that our standard A-rating generally hits the mark . British homeowners want new low maintenance PVCu windows that look good , keep their houses secure and warm ( and maybe help to reduce energy bills in the long run ), are easy to operate and keep clean .

That is why factors such as easy-to-use “ tilt and clean ” functionality and our reassuring “ anti-jemmy ” security bar , which is an integral built-in feature on all ECOSlide PVCu sill extrusions tend to capture consumer minds and subsequently develop retail sales discussions away from U-values and WER thermal performance comparisons .

Enhanced security , in part driven by the Document Q specifications for new builds and building adaptations , is undoubtedly going to loom ever larger in post-Brexit Britain , as our economic and cultural landscapes continue to evolve .

Although other homeowner concerns should and must be addressed , energy efficiency will of course remain central to our collective selling story , with “ smart DG ” dominating because it delivers an agreeable mix of effective performance and value for money . Triple glazing has been ( and will continue to be ) a tempting discussion and commercial distraction , but in my former role as Head of Marketing for one of our leading UK systems suppliers I can quite categorically report that “ TG ” represented less than 2 % of total sales volume ( calculated by quantities of triple glazing bead ) with no significant trend movement year-on-year between 2014 and 2015 . The spread of that systems business in terms of both fabricator diversity and installer reach was highly representative of our total UK industry , so this insight seems pertinent .