Suppliers

• Anglian Windows- Windows, Conservatories, Doors, Roof Products, Garage conversions, Garage doors and Driveways
• Everest- Windows, Conservatories, Doors, Roof Products and Solar Panels
• Safestyle- Windows and Doors
• Zenith / Weatherseal- Windows, Conservatories, Doors and Roof Products
• Bankrupt companiesWe’ve compiled a list of double glazing companies which have gone bust
• Suppliers RatingsLet us know what you think of Double Glazing suppliers you've used in the past.

How much energy will I save with double glazing? 20 June 2010
Installing double glazing can be an excellent way to save energy – and therefore money. But exactly how much can you knock off your annual heating bill, and is it enough to justify the outlay?

With the government aiming for a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in every household, it makes sense to look to double glazing as a way to cut your carbon footprint, especially as according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), around 18% of heat is lost through the windows in an average home each year – while others put the figure at closer to 25%.

Fitting double glazing can reduce this significantly. With double A rated windows (look out for the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo and BFRC energy label if you're unsure), the EST estimates that it leads to a reduction of around 720 kilograms of carbon dioxide annually – a small but not inconsiderable slice of the average UK carbon footprint of 11.3 tonnes per year.

So what does this translate to in terms of costs? Again, the EST is probably the most reputable source for this figure, giving the average saving at around £135 per year, compared to £85 for secondary glazing. With an average cost of around £2,000, that's about 20 years before they pay for themselves – around the amount of time standard uPVC windows are expected to last.

Going by these figures, it's roughly break even. However, there's a few more considerations – although double glazing will take a long time to pay back purely through energy savings, your house will be warmer (which could cut your heating bill), better insulated from noise and with a higher resale value. All food for thought...

Insurer predicts smashing World Cup 19 June 2010
Double glazing fitters could be an unexpected beneficiary of the World Cup in South Africa, with insurance firm Aviva reporting that the previous tournament in 2006 led to a 25% increase in claims for smashed windows.

The figures, compared to a normal summer, showed that most breakages came when rogue footballs shattered greenhouses, conservatories, sheds and house windows, with the average cost of each claim at around £600. Unsurprisingly, children were the main – but far from exclusive – culprits.

But according to Aviva, formally known as Norwich Union, it's not just amateur footballers whose shooting skills leave a little to be desired. During last year's Ashes series, cricket fans contributed to a 30% increase in broken glass claims with balls hitting windows rather than wickets.

However, the insurer hinted that many of these claims will be will be refused unless homeowners pay £30 a year extra for additional cover against accidental damage – a situation unlikely to endear it to the parents of many budding sportsman.

Rob Townend, director of property claims at Aviva, said: "It's great that famous sporting events inspire youngsters - and possibly some overenthusiastic parents - to get out in the garden and knock a few balls around, but it might be as well to direct those games of footie, tennis or cricket away from your home and towards the end of the garden or perhaps a local park."

Can I get a grant for my double glazing? 18 June 2010
With money tight for many households right now, expensive home improvements can seem out of reach, no matter how much more energy efficient they are in the long run. The good news is that grants for double glazing are available, although they will largely depend on your age, local authority and whether you claim benefits or are disabled.

A good place to start is with your local council. Many offer Home Repair Assistance Grants for home improvements, but be aware that these are usually restricted to those on means tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Income Support.

Even then, it's traditionally been quite unlikely for councils to pay for double glazing, but it really does rest on the strength of your case. If you can prove that the work is the best option for your home – for example if your windows need replacing anyway or noise pollution is a real issue– then you're in with a good chance.

If you're letting out your property, things can be a little easier, especially if your tenant is on benefits or over 60. Again, you'll need to get in touch with your council to find out what's available – to find your local authority's details enter your postcode in the DirectGov website.

The Energy Saving Trust is another route, but again, the same criteria will usually apply. If saving energy is a priority, you will usually be pointed towards loft or cavity wall insulation instead, although through their Green Communities scheme, residents are being encouraged to band together in order to receive bulk discounts from suppliers – not strictly a grant, but a good option nonetheless for those falling outside the funding net.

It's worth noting that any potential double glazing grants will have a long waiting list, so be prepared to do some work in following up your application. Time spent on hold may not be fun, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

DIY spending on the up 16 June 2010
A new study by the Halifax has shown that British homeowners are spending an average of over £1,000 more on DIY this year than they did in 2009.

With the housing market remaining subdued, the report says that more than half of all home-owners (56%) are choosing to carry out some form of improvements on their property. And despite the downturn, they are spending more – with an average total spend of £6,362 over the last 12 months.

Unsurprisingly, the single most expensive improvement was replacing the kitchen, at an average cost of £6,609, followed by installing new windows or double glazing at £3,646 and putting in a new bathroom at £3,396.

The research shows that people that have lived in their house between three and four years had the highest spend on home improvements (£9,481), while amongst those people that have lived in their property for over 10 years had the lowest spend (£5,299).

Lloyds Banking Group commercial director Stephen Noakes said: "We have always enjoyed DIY and home improvements remain high on the list. Our research shows that more and more home owners are picking up their brushes and paint and using their creativity to improver their surroundings, particularly in this market where we are seeing less house purchases."

What does FENSA registration mean? 08 June 2010
If you're new to the world of of double glazing or conservatories, the amount of acronyms and abbreviations when it comes to regulations can seem dazzling. Here we take a look at one of the most common, FENSA.

FENSA stands for the Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme, and was founded in 2002 by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) and other industry bodies – with encouragement from the government – to ensure compliance with new building regulations covering all replacement glazing in houses in England and Wales.

As the names suggests, FENSA is a self-certifying scheme, meaning that once registered, installers can certify the work themselves to say it complies with building regulations. To obtain FENSA registration, each company has a sample of work checked by an appointed inspector.

So, what does this mean for the consumer? In practice, once your windows have been fitted, FENSA will inform your local authority and issue a you a certificate confirming that the installer self certifies compliance. In short, that's pretty much it.

Before signing a contract, it's always a good idea to ask any company whether they can self-certify, either by FENSA or the similar Certass scheme. If they can't, an application for approval will need to be made to your local authority, which will result in extra charges.

It's important to remember FENSA registration isn't a mark of quality work, nor does it give any financial guarantees against rogue traders or a faulty installation. Even so, the ability to self-certify is very useful, and common among all but the smallest of outfits.

What does FENSA registration mean? 08 June 2010
If you're new to the world of of double glazing or conservatories, the amount of acronyms and abbreviations when it comes to regulations can seem dazzling. Here we take a look at one of the most common, FENSA.

FENSA stands for the Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme, and was founded in 2002 by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) and other industry bodies – with encouragement from the government – to ensure compliance with new building regulations covering all replacement glazing in houses in England and Wales.

As the names suggests, FENSA is a self-certifying scheme, meaning that once registered, installers can certify the work themselves to say it complies with building regulations. To obtain FENSA registration, each company has a sample of work checked by an appointed inspector.

So, what does this mean for the consumer? In practice, once your windows have been fitted, FENSA will inform your local authority and issue a you a certificate confirming that the installer self certifies compliance. In short, that's pretty much it.

Before signing a contract, it's always a good idea to ask any company whether they can self-certify, either by FENSA or the similar Certass scheme. If they can't, an application for approval will need to be made to your local authority, which will result in extra charges.

It's important to remember FENSA registration isn't a mark of quality work, nor does it give any financial guarantees against rogue traders or a faulty installation. Even so, the ability to self-certify is very useful, and common among all but the smallest of outfits.

Solar panel sellers slammed in Which? 04 June 2010
Just Picked this up from this post: (thanks LookingForAdvice!)

Been a topic which has needed discussion for a while now, let us know what your opinions are!


Solar panel sellers slammed in Which? probe10 out of 14 solar water heating firms misled us
25 April 2010

Ten out of 14 companies selling solar water heating systems exaggerated potential savings to consumers during an undercover sting carried out by Which?.

During the investigation, household name Everest potentially broke the law and has admitted that its representative made claims that they knew to be false during the sales pitch.

For more solar water heating system buying advice and to watch an undercover video clip of a solar energy salesman in action, see our online guide to buying solar panels.

Misleading claims
Everest quoted a 43% cut in the total gas bill and claimed a saving of £35,000 over 20 years. Another national company, Bournemouth-based Ideal Solar Energy claimed its solar water heating system would halve the gas bill, saving the customer around £600 a year.

Ideal also misquoted energy regulator Ofgem to talk up savings, claiming that 70% of a home’s gas costs go on hot water and 30% on heating – Ofgem says that it’s actually the other way round. Our online guide to buying solar panels includes a video of the Ideal Solar Energy salesman in action.

These claims are wildly optimistic. A highly experienced solar water heating expert calculated that the reduction on the overall gas bill would be closer to 10% - a saving of about £55 a year at current gas prices.

Senior Trading Standards officer Neil McLoughlin said it’s an offence for companies to make misleading or false statements that cause you to buy a product. He added: ‘The precise nature of Everest’s figure makes the claim even more misleading as it appeared to have been carefully calculated and would cause consumers to place undue reliance on its accuracy.’

Solar water heating sales tactics
Both companies also used apparently unfair sales tactics. Everest slashed an already high quote of over £11,500 (about three times the lowest quote) to a still-high £8,500 if we signed up there and then.

Ideal dropped its price from £8,690 to £6,520. The next day it followed up with a phone call offering a new price of £5,860 if a £400 deposit (coming down to £250) was paid before the end of the day.

Mr McLoughlin said: ‘These practices deprives people of the time needed to make an informed choice.’

Solar water heating companies
While these two companies gave the most cause for concern, Which? received poor service and exaggerated claims of performance from nearly all 14 firms. One suggested we’d make our money back in ‘six to eight years’ on a system costing £5,200. Even with income from the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), pay-back times are likely to be double this.
Not one company identified all the important technical challenges before issuing a quotation, according to Which?’s solar expert.
Just one company – Southern Solar (0845 456 9474) – was worthy of mention for its helpful and sensible approach.

Solar selling complaints
In the last three years, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has demanded that three particularly notorious companies – Smart Energy (UK) Ltd, Solar Technik Ltd (not to be confused with an unconnected company of the same name formed on 23 March 2010), which have both gone bust, and Ultimate Energy which has been dissolved – should stop misleading their customers.

The OFT received around 1,000 complaints about the sector last year, which Which? thinks is far too high for an industry with under 100,000 installations in UK homes. Holiday insurers, damp-proofers and landlords attracted a similar number of complaints last year, but are used by a far greater number of people in the UK.

Cowboy solar sellers
Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, said: 'Most of the firms in our investigation behaved like true cowboys - they promised huge savings that bore no relation to reality, and some really piled pressure on the homeowner to sign up immediately or risk losing a one off "special offer".

'The solar industry is too important to our long-term energy needs for things to drag on like this. It needs to clean up its act, and if it won’t, the OFT and the government will have to step in.'

Solar panel buying advice
For more on solar water heating systems and other renewable technologies, see the Which? guides to buying solar panels and home heating systems.

Double glazing gets ombudsman scheme 03 June 2010
Homeowners could receive extra protection from unscrupulous or incompetent traders following the launch of a new ombudsman service for the double glazing and conservatory industry.

The Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) was officially unveiled earlier this month following four years of research and a two-year pilot project. All members of the initiative will be expected to pass a 12-point vetting procedure examining their contracts, health and safety records and public liability insurance in case jobs go wrong. Each applicant will also have to provide ten references from work completed in the past year.

In return, consumers will receive benefits including insurance on deposits, a 10 year guarantee on the quality of workmanship and access to a compensation fund. Traders will also have some protection against customers who withhold payment or make unfounded complaints.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, founding director Tony Pickup said that the scheme will help reputable builders and companies 'officially differentiate themselves' from unqualified rogue traders.

Currently, the organisation has 36 members with a further 126 still awaiting approval. By 2013, the DGOS aims to include 14,000 – around 18% of the estimated 130,000 installers currently operating. The UK double glazing industry is valued at £4.65 billion, and was responsible for 22,000 complaints to trading standards last year alone.

Ten ways to avoid a double glazing cowboy 01 June 2010
Double glazing firms don't have the greatest reputation at the best of times. Following on from our Top 10 tips for choosing double glazing, here are a few ways you can avoid having your fingers burned.

1. Go by word of mouth. Friends, relatives, neighbours – all are good sources for recommendations. If you're still stuck, an established firm with a good local presence is probably your best bet.

2. Ask for a contract. A scribbled, handwritten note isn't enough, so make sure it's on headed paper and that you keep multiple copies.

3. Don't be pressured. If you're getting an aggressive sales pitch, the chances are the company isn't that concerned with its levels of service. Politely and firmly say 'No'.

4. Don't be doorstepped. Unsolicited visits from sales people should spell trouble. Reputable installers don't need to drum up trade this way, so look elsewhere.

5. Know what you want. If you do your research (link to last guide?), you'll be prepared to ask the right questions and, just as importantly, spot the wrong answers.

6. Be wary of discounts for cash. It might be tempting, but you're passing up on proof of payment. In terms of protection, your credit card may be the best bet.

7. Be a detective. Companies House lets you perform an online check of businesses, so if you think something's up, get digging.

8. Check the lists. Some councils or consumer groups produce 'reputable traders' lists. Another great source if you can't get personal recommendations.

9. See for yourself. Don't be afraid to ask to see previous work, or read some references from previous clients.

10. Trust your instinct. If you're in doubt, it has to said that you're probably right. After all, you're leaving them in charge of your most valuable possession – your home.