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Energu Efficiency

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dave1948 | 10:06 Tue 15th Jul 2014 | Property
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Just had a cold caller on about Energy Efficiency, Any body out there know whether it is a good idea.

She said it would involve someone attaching something to the window for a few seconds. This would enable them to assess Energy Efficiency. Asked if I would like an appointment tomorrow which I declined.

Was I right to do so ? She said it would be free but there must be money in it somewhere for them. Possibly from a (bogus) report which necessitates work. She also asked whether my Double Glazing is over 12 years old
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How can anyone tell your energy efficiency by attaching something to your window? They are bound to want to come in, look at your bills etc. Tell her to clear off.
They are almost certainly a double glazing outfit. Many of them have jumped on the "energy efficiency" bandwagon and are using all sorts of ruses to gain business. Tell them to go forth and multiply.
NEVER deal with anyone who cold calls you.

That way you are far less likely to get scammed.

Sadly most cold callers get their business from gullible people, so don't be gullible.

To be honest it sounds like they are just trying to sell you new double glazing windows.

They will attach this device to your window, say that you are losing a lot of heat through your existing windows and try to sell you more double glazing.

p.s. Never divulge personal information to these people. They may ask "are you the home owner", "how old is your double glazing", "do you have a credit card" etc.

Don't even tell them your name.

It is all none of their business and you are under no obligation to answer.
I had one last night from some Gaswegian 15 year old telling me I qualified for some sort of 'grant'. Yeah....right.
Everybody loses radiant heat through their double glazing. If you've seen infra-red camera footage of a house (on TV), you'll know this is the case.
The fix is simple: close your curtains when you're done with the view out of the window.

Never forget that the payback period on your first set of double glazing is about 25 years. Even if there was some miracle heat-retaining glass released onto the market, it will likely be another 25 years for your savings to amount to the 2-4k they'll be asking.

With the fabled efficiency of current double glazing plus the law of diminishing returns, the payback period could be 30-50 years. By all means go from single glazed to the new product but how many of those are still left to process?
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Thank you for sensible advice.

I am weakening when I hear of grants mentioned or is this all just part of a big scam ?
Telesales are an enormous irritant and I would not want to say or do anything to suggest it has any merit apart from providing work for a few desperate souls. However,...

In relation to the climate, an inordinately high percentage of the UK housing stock is substandard. Considering the comfort levels many western nations now expect, the same UK dwellings are barely fit for living in. This is because it is increasingly common for people to, while indoors, expect to be able to be independent of outdoor conditions without too much financial effort in terms of running costs. This is not the case if when it is cold outside it is inevitably also cold inside. The ubiquitous old slide-up-and-down windows, apart from single glazing, are so draughty that it is impractical to try to heat the place much past 10 degrees when it is below 5 degrees outside and windy. It is possibly a uniquely British solution to try to draught proof and insulate a dwelling with heavy curtains - but, admittedly one that has some effect in a near hopelessly British situation. Such draughty windows are still widely found in the UK and they are still in houses on all sides of mine.

The time it takes to recover the cost of replacement windows is usually measured in the time over which the savings in heating costs equals the cost of the windows. I installed central heating in our house in 1973 and completed replacement with double glazed windows everywhere within eighteen months of that. I would not be surprised if the pure cost analysis by the above criteria were to result in recovery in about five years but in terms of simple comfort the cost was worth it from the moment of completion of installation. My assessment is based on the fact that we heat to a constant 21 degrees while we are awake and a minimum of 18 degrees at all other times. We simply would not be able to maintain those levels during cold/windy weather with the original windows in place - unless we had a far more powerful heating system approaching furnace output in every room.

The time it takes to recover the cost of replacement windows where heating is solely used to maintain no more than 10-12 degrees minimum in some rooms and at best 18 degrees temporarily for part of the day in a room or or two will be far longer because of the small temperature margin they are working to. In houses where there is scarcely any use of heating, clearly having windows to post 1870 standards or so is a waste.

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