Announcements
Giving the homeowner a green solution
Kestrel - 21st November 2008
In this month’s Fitters’ Friend, exclusive to Vision, Tony Crutcher, Sales and Marketing Director of the Kestrel brand explains why it’s worth taking a closer look at the product you are fixing.
Whether it’s Window Energy Ratings or the debate about the sustainability of PVC-U building products, the hot topics in our industry continue to focus around ‘green’. It is still and will continue to be for some time, top of consumers’ and as a result industries’ agendas. So it’s crucial to understand completely the product you are installing, particularly with reference to its green credentials.
Taking roofline for example, here are some handy hints of what to look out for. The diagram shows that all roofline has an outer skin and an inner core. Both can be manufactured using a wide variety of technology combinations, for example the skin might be made with Calcium Organic, Dibutyl Tin or Lead and the core might be made with a different stabiliser of the three or perhaps with regrind.
Lead Based Stabilisers
The concentration of lead is typically 1.5% to 3% in the PVC compound. Vinyl 2010 is a pan European code voluntarily agreed by the PVC industry to minimise the risk to the environment and human health. Contained within this is a commitment to half the use of lead based stabilisers by 2010 and to completely phase out their use by 2015.
Tin Based Stabilisers
The concentration of tin is typically 0.5 % to 1% in the PVC compound. It is likely that butyl tin stabilisers of the type used in profile extrusions will be affected by CMR (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and Reprotoxic) substance categorisation under REACH.
Calcium Organic Stabilisers
These are based on Calcium and Zinc technology. The concentration of zinc is typically 0.1 % to 0.15% in the PVC compound. The concentration of calcium is typically 2 to 6 % in the PVC, although most of this calcium comes from inorganic components of the PVC compound other than the stabiliser. There are no toxicological issues of the nature outlined above with these stabilisers.
Vinyl 2010 and REACH are clearly considerations for our industry but keeping ahead of legislation isn’t the only reason to use products with 100% calcium organic stabilisers in the skin and core. They provide a great sales tool too. Consumers want green products so if you’re selling roofline with 100% calcium organic stabilisers in the skin and core, let them know that’s what you’ve got. Some installers have told me they’re not using this as a sales tool because consumers aren’t asking about the products’ green credentials. But maybe they just don’t know the questions to ask. Armed with all the facts, consumers are more likely to buy their roofline from you than your competition because you have a positive point of differentiation.
If you want more information about any of the above here are some useful websites:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals
www.vinyl2010.org/
www.kbp.co.uk
Or e-mail us at info@kestrelbce.co.uk with your thoughts on this or any other subject you would like us to cover in Fitters’ Friend.
