The UK Government, currently under fire for looking increasingly unlikely to reach EU targets for reduction of energy usage, is reluctant to reduce the VAT on energy efficient windows in line with other energy efficient products - but one small company is determined to do something about it, and needs your help!
Energy Efficient products such as solar panels attract only a 5% VAT rate, this is reduced to 0% when they are installed to a new build property. Efficient double glazing, however, continues to be classed as a 'luxury product' and taxed at 17.5% - despite the huge energy savings they can provide.
Masterframe , manufacturers of the Bygone Collection sash windows (the only British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC) A rated sash window and Energy Savings Trust recommended)
"Its never been more important to encourage good energy efficient products, especially those which harmonise with the buildings into which they are being installed, yet the chancellor has been unwilling to reduce VAT on the most energy efficient window. Consequently we’re all paying too much VAT and hardly surprising the take up is minimal" says Alan Burgess, MD of Masterframe Windows who manufacture the Bygone Collection.
Bygones who also sell a BFRC C-rated window proven to save 74% of the heat lost through a conventional single glazed timber window, have invested heavily into research and spent several years developing their A-rated double glazed sash, which has been featured on TV programmes including Channel 4's Room for Improvement. is actually carbon neutral, the net effect is that it does not lose ANY heat, heat lost and gained are balanced, lets put it another way, ALL the heat lost through normal windows can be conserved using their A rated sash windows.
"Of course our windows are more expensive than less efficient replacement double glazing" says Alan, "they cost more to manufacture and have a huge investment in research and manufacturing equipment - but they'll save you money in the long run, and even more importantly they'll cut heat loss through your windows by around 74% on average - that would go a really long way towards helping the government reach their EU directive targets over the next 10 years"
Bygone are absolutely determined that the Government look again at their VAT regulations, and are urging clients and visitors to their website to sign an online petition created by the Glass and Glazing Federation demanding a review of the legislation. Energy efficient double glazing, they say, is one of the best ways to save fuel and it should be treated in the same way as other environmentally friendly measures.
For more information about the Bygone Collection Energy Efficient Windows visit http://www.bygonecollection.co.uk. You can find out more about the petition at http://www.bygonecollection.co.uk/
