The incoming regulation changes offer our industry yet another opportunity to add value, argues Dean Bradley, sales and marketing manager for Glazpart. Here’s how.
Many of you will be aware of the impending changes to the building regulations, especially the requirement for trickle vents to be used on most windows installed from 15 June 2022, for new-build and replacement windows. This change is being introduced due to the lack of value attributed to the cost of poor ventilation in dwellings by all interested parties, from installers to homeowners. Add a lack of information and education, and there is little incentive or motivation to improve the home environment.
This lack of good ventilation then gets locked into a dwelling for decades, and then ends up with remedial works and potential poor health outcomes due to the building’s ventilation provision. The estimated benefits of better ventilation are between £21m and £91m (it’s difficult to estimate the cost benefits to the NHS!)
The government believes that there is a need for regulation to address these issues, as the market isn’t installing a solution. This can be seen in the studies used in its review, which showed that only a small number of homes met the existing minimum ventilation provisions recommended in approved document F 2010: 2006.