Jul 20 2009
Rockwool, the world's leading manufacturer of non-combustible stone wool insulation, has officially welcomed the creation of the Solid Wall Insulation Guarantee Agency (SWIGA). The creation of this agency marks the culmination of months of work building on the experience gained from the established Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency scheme to enhance protection for consumers.
SWIGA will provide a 25 year guarantee on all qualifying solid wall insulation used in building refurbishments, such as Rockwool's RockShield products and its partnering system with British Gas, EcoRock. These are often used in domestic refurbishment projects, to insulate existing buildings where cavity wall insulation is not suitable.
Under the terms of the Government's proposed Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), energy suppliers will be obliged to provide energy efficiency measures to domestic consumers. Solid wall insulation is expected to be an important element in these measures. The launch of SWIGA will be instrumental in reassuring the Government and consumers that the solid wall insulation industry is already taking steps to ensure it is well regulated and provides similar consumer guarantees to those available from cavity wall insulation, thus enabling cavity and solid wall insulation to be included as a core carbon cutting requirement under CESP and CERT legislation.
David Adams, Market Development Director from Rockwool, said: "We welcome the launch of SWIGA and its 25 year guarantee as an important step forward for solid wall insulation. New buildings are now designed to very high energy efficiency standards. If Britain is serious about improving its energy efficiency and meeting its wider CO2 emissions targets, retrofitting existing properties is going to be crucial. Given this, we think solid wall insulation will play an increasing part in the greening of the UK."
Gerry Miller of SWIGA, said: "Rockwool has been closely involved in the creation of SWIGA, providing us with technical assistance and industry knowledge, as well as welcome advice and encouragement. We look forward to working closely together in future to promote solid wall insulation as a viable and highly effective means of insulating Britain's buildings."
Mat Colmer from the Energy Saving Trust said: "While solid wall insulation does involve an upfront cost, we calculate that external wall insulation could save a household around £400 a year on its energy bills, and internal wall insulation could save around £380. We welcome the creation of SWIGA and its product guarantee as a way of encouraging more people to invest in this highly beneficial insulation."