Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: More than Euro3.25m was issued to households through the new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund during the scheme's first week, which ran from 9 June 2014 to 15 June 2014, according to industry estimates. Some 1736 applications were made for the fund, which offers households in England and Wales up to Euro9494 cash back for making energy-efficient home improvements.

"We've changed the Green Deal to make it simpler and faster for people to make their homes more energy efficient," said Energy and Climate Change secretary Ed Davey. "Under the new incentive scheme domestic energy customers can get up to Euro1249 for installing two measures from an approved list and / or up to Euro7495 for installing solid wall insulation, in addition to up to Euro125 refunded for their Green Deal Assessment."

The scheme also entitles those who have bought a property in the 12 months prior to application to qualify for up to an additional Euro625 if they carry out energy-efficiency improvements.

UK: Superglass Holdings reported that its revenue fell by 25% year-on-year to Euro29m in its financial year that ended on 31 August 2013. In the UK-based mineral wool producer's preliminary results statement, chief executive Alex McLeod conceded that the company had faced 'extremely challenging trading conditions'.

"The transition from CERT to ECO/Green Deal has caused a major gap in activity within the retrofit market for both loft and cavity insulation. Combined with abnormally low levels of house-building activity in the UK by historical standards of new unit construction despite recent early signs of recovery, the net effect has been a surplus of UK-based insulation manufacturing capacity and highly competitive market conditions," said McLeod. In Superglass' fiscal 2013 its operating loss grew to Euro13.2m from Euro2.98m in the fiscal 2012.

Both McLeod and chairman John Colley highlighted Superglass' capital investment programme, Project Phoenix, which delivered cost savings in reduced energy consumption and waste of Euro3.36m in the 2012 – 2013 financial year. Superglass expects revenues to recover slowly in 2014.

UK: Experts have warned that the UK's Green Deal scheme to promote higher levels of insulation in buildings could inadvertently generate potentially lethal overheating in some residences.

Researchers from Loughborough University and the University of Reading have highlighted that Green Deal-inspired changes may be unsuitable for top-floor flats (especially in 1960s constructions) and modern detached houses. In both cases, southerly aspects could add even more to summer temperatures, creating potentially unbearable conditions for occupants.

Speaking to the BBC's website, Professor Chris Goodier of Loughborough University said that it was 'vital' that the UK improved insulation in its housing stock for the sake of lower fuel costs and carbon emissions, but said that the 'big rush to insulation and make homes airtight' risked overheating.

"Overheating is like the little boy at the back of the class waving his hand," he told the BBC website. "It is forgotten about because the other challenges are so big."

Goodier, along with Professor Li Shao of the University of Reading, said that the elderly were among the most at risk of overheating effects as they are more likely to remain indoors during the day and are more susceptible to the effects of extreme temperatures.

The Department for Energy and Climate has now said that it has issued new guidelines regarding overheating to its Green Deal partners in the insulation industry.

The Green Deal has come in for much criticism in the UK since it launch at the start of 2013. The scheme targets the insulation of 14 million homes by 2020 but so far only 38,259 assessments have been carried out. Of these, only 241 homes have committed to proceeding with the installation of insulation.

UK: The UK's energy-efficiency scheme, the Green Deal, has been launched. The scheme gives homeowners and businesses the option of paying for energy efficiency improvements such as insulation and new heating systems through an unsecured loan that is added to their electricity bill. The scheme aims to cover the cost of the improvements by the reduction in consumers' energy bills.

"More and more families are being hit by the rising cost of fuel bills and the best way people can protect themselves from increased costs is to use less energy. This is where the Green Deal comes in, giving people a whole new way to pay for energy saving home improvements," said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey.

The Green Deal includes 45 different types of improvements to help people warm up their homes and pay for some or all of the improvements over time through their electricity bill. According to government statistics 8m households in the UK could benefit from solid wall insulation and 4m households could benefit from cavity insulation. It is expected that 60,000 jobs will be supported in the insulation sector by 2015, an increase of 26,000 in 2011. Euro4.1m of funding is to be spent on training in 'key' Green Deal skills.

Among others the Green Deal has been criticised by the environmental group Friends of the Earth for containing 'significant' flaws such as the interest rate on the loans offered. However, the Friends of the Earth did support the scheme's Cashback Scheme that makes Euro146m available to householders without them having to make any borrowings.

UK: Superglass Holdings, which makes glass fibre insulation, has reported that it made a pre-tax profit for the half year that ended on 29 February 2012. It added that market conditions remain difficult and that there is uncertainty over how the UK government's Green Deal environmental policy will operate.

Revenue for the half year rose year-on-year to Euo21.1m from Euro18.4m in the same half year in 2011, an increase of 14%. Pre-tax profit rose to Euro9.92m from a loss of Euro2.7m. Tight control continues to be exercised over costs and working capital.

UK: A Euro230m government energy-efficiency scheme which aims to refurbish 14 million homes in the UK has been criticised for putting millions of homeowners in a worse position.

The Green Deal announced on 24 November 2011 will allow homeowners to take a loan to install insulation or other energy-saving measures from October 2012. It is intended that the bill savings from the measures will be larger than the loan repayments.

"But millions of hard-working households will lose existing subsidies for insulating their home and will have to borrow the costs of insulation at commercial rates instead," claimed Steven Heath, of Knauf Insulation.

Although subsidies remain for the fuel poor, Heath said that households struggling to pay rising fuel costs would be adversely affected. "The Green Deal initiative needs to be revised to ensure a sensible, effective transition over the next five years from current green energy subsidies," he said.

The Green Deal proposals allow for up to Euro170 to be given as a cashback offer to homeowners, but that is added to the loan. Richard Lloyd of Which? said, "It's crucial that the Government gets the Green Deal right. If it's not good value for consumers overall, short-term incentives will not be enough."

At the launch of the scheme Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said, "We want the Green Deal to be a game changer for British consumers who've been buffeted by global energy prices." It is hoped that the Green Deal will kick start around Euro16bn of private sector investment over the next decade until 2022.

UK: MonolithUK, a new business in North Wales, is set to create 40 new jobs with its launch of an innovative external cladding product for the home insulation market Brick Plus, an alternative type of insulation for older properties, looks and feels like real brick, but it is not a structural product. It is ideally suited to conceal and cover external wall insulation while preserving the appearance of older brick properties. This also helps it to circumnavigate planning permission controls that apply to cavity insulation.

Made from a specialised natural lime product, Brick Plus are lighter than bricks, only 20mm deep and have a thin expanded polystyrene backing. They can be provided as individual bricks, on a mesh sheet and with or without thermal insulation attached.

Steven Waring, who has invested nearly Euro600,000 into the Brick Plus project since 2008, says that the new application is quicker, safer, less costly and lighter than alternative systems on the market. He highlighted that the potential market for Brick Plus was significant, with hundreds of thousands of older properties in the UK not able to install cavity wall insulation due to not having cavity walls.

"Brick Plus is the only system of its type available that can match all brick types and colours, including those that have been out of production for decades. Brick Plus provides a solution to the dilemma of having to finish externally insulated brick buildings with a render coat," said Waring, who also believes that his product will be an ideal product for use under the Green Deal, a UK Government initiative due to come into effect in the autumn of 2012 that is geared to making homes more efficient.

UK: The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has published figures that map the UK's performance in installing energy-saving residential insulation. In a local, council-by-council energy breakdown in conjunction with the Energy Saving Trust (EST), the department's figures showed that five of the country's worst performing local councils for installing home insulation were in London.

The London councils contrasted sharply with Kirklees, Yorkshire and Anglesey, Wales, which were revealed as the nation's top performing local authorities with 24.8% and 22.5% of their respective stock insulated. The largest number of insulation fittings that were carried out in 2010 were in Birmingham with a total of 12,079. Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said, "For those who haven't yet insulated their home, I'd really recommend them to pick up the phone, call the EST and check out the help available to cut bills."

Installing insulation forms part of the government's Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme and supplements schemes in the forthcoming Green Deal from 2012. As part of the initiative, fuel companies have been told by the coalition government to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. British Gas, which has a 20% market share in UK gas supply, has recently announced a free insulation installation deal for its customers as part of the plans.

UK: A report has revealed that the UK's insulation market experienced growth in 2010 after declining in 2009. Research and Markets' 'Building Insulation Market - UK 2011-2015' also reveals that insulation is expected to reach an estimated market size of Euro1.16m by 2015.

The report also says that the UK insulation market will continue to be underpinned by the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, the Green Deal and new building regulations. The largest market sector in 2010 was mineral wool insulation.

The report comes at the same time as figures were released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which show that just 57% of Britain's roofs are fitted with proper loft insulation and only 58% of buildings have cavity insulation.

The UK energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne said, "At a time when money is tight and with energy prices predicted to rise, householders are missing out on over Euro110 of savings every single year by not getting their lofts lagged and cavity walls filled." The government hopes that an additional three million homes will be fitted with insulation by the end of 2012.