LIST OF QUESTIONS

1. Is IdealGuard™ for me?

2. Why do I need IdealGuard™ if I already have CCTV or/and intruder/fire alarm?

3. How do I reduce property maintenance costs by fitting IdealGuard™?
 
4. How much can I safe on energy bills if I fit IdealGuard™?

5. Is IdealGuard™ suitable for individuals of pensionable age, back sufferers and disabled?

6. In which way IdealGuard™ is different from other security letter/mail boxes available on the market? For example, the anti-arson ones with the fire extinguisher?

7. Can the fire extinguisher and/or intumescent lining be fitted inside the IdealGuard™ as the additional means of protection against fire if I wish so?

8. Can IdealGuard™ products be given security classification and/or fire resistance rating and used on security and/or fire rated doors?

9. Why having protection from liquids is so important?

10. Are there any restrictions to the items of mail that can be delivered?

11. Can I fit IdealGuard™ myself by DIY?

12. Shall I tell the postman that I have a new secure letter box installed?

13. Was IdealGuard™ tested?


ANSWERS

1.  Is IdealGuard™ for me?

Answer:   There are easily available statistics and media reports on letter box related arson and crime attacks on a property, which clearly indicate the need for the improved security in the letter box.

According to the statistics available on AXA Insurance website arson related losses had dramatically gone up during last few years with arson  accounted for over half (51%) of all claims made in the last quarter of 2006, which means that arson is an increasingly expensive problem for businesses. The average cost of a fire in commercial property is  £44,000, with fires costing the national economy £7.03 billion every year.

The employees cannot intervene to contain the damage from the attack at night time when the business premises are normally not attended but without the letter box there will be no mail deliveries during the out of office hours.

With new legislation in force in the UK improving security and draught proofing in the unprotected letter box is not optional any more for owners and managers of non-domestic premises.

In domestic premises the number of arson offences recorded by the police between 2006 and 2007 was 43,103 (Crime in England and Wales 2006/2007 Table 2.04). The police officers will report that the vast majority of the offences in domestic properties involve accelerant being introduced into the building envelope through a letterplate.

The common sense tells us that for the same reason you have your front doors locked you must also have security against crime and vandalism in your front door letter box for protection of your most valuable assets, such as your family, high-priced property and contents.

Simple calculation proves that fitting IdealGuard™ for physical security, saving on energy bills and reducing insurance premiums is much more economical than damaged property restoration, replacing contents and stolen valuables, like cars, paying increased insurance premiums, suffering the consequential loss and paying soaring energy bills.  

If you are considering the most cost-effective means of improving the security and energy efficiency of  properties you should take the opportunity and install IdealGuard™.

IdealGuard™ products are recommended since they are world's first and world leaders in letter box advanced maintenance-free physical security and functionality in conjunction with saving house energy, protection of the environment and ergonomics for a postman.  With IdealGuard™ fitted indoors you will receive your mail in the traditional way but with more comfort and security.

Moreover, IdealGuard™ brand of products have the universal fitting feature. Therefore, if you wish so, IdealGuard™ product with the recommended inbuilt extra security lock can be fitted outdoors as a mailbox.  You still have the unique benefit of the IdealGuard™ mailbox enhanced security against introduction of liquids, vandalism and crime.

2. Why do I need IdealGuard™ if I already have CCTV or/and intruder/fire alarm?

Answer: The unprotected letter box offers an easy and attractive route into a property for perpetrators whatever locks, alarms and CCTV may be installed. 

CCTV and alarms cannot substitute the physical security to your property. Those systems and warning signs are powerless to stop vandals, arsonists, thieves, burglars and terrorists who will use any opportunity to attack your property. 

Burglars noted that the public were so accustomed to alarms going off that they tend not pay attention when they are activated. The effectiveness of CCTV is also questioned as burglars can easily mitigate the risk of being caught by wearing hoods and caps.

3.  How do I reduce property maintenance costs by fitting IdealGuard™?

Answer:  The average cost of a domestic fire is estimated at £24,900 in 2004, of which approximately £14,600 is accounted for by the economic cost of injuries and fatalities and £7,300 due to property damage.

Fitting IdealGuard™ will stop accidents that would give rise to building, contents and health insurance claims and insurance premiums going up in the following year. You can consider reducing insurance premiums by opting for larger insurance policy excess since accidents become less likely.

Add to that the savings on costs from accidents that occur on your property, which are not covered by your insurance. Also you will better protect the property when it is temporarily not occupied, so insurance typically does not cover vandalism, theft and malicious damage to the building and contents. 

You can negotiate a discount on your insurance premiums based on the increased security of your property.

If you do not have insurance you will reduce the risk of suffering losses.  By protecting against such accidents you escape the risk of death and injury and save on property refurbishment costs. Fitting  IdealGuard™ will cost you much less than paying for the insurance on the annual basis, although it is not a full substitute to having the insurance, of course.

IdealGuard™ allows Local Government Authorities, Housing Associations and Insurance companies cutting millions in their losses from criminal and vandalism attacks against properties.

4.  How much can I safe on energy bills if I fit IdealGuard™?

Answer:    With soaring energy prices it makes a lot of sense saving energy wherever possible.

Air leakage through the unprotected letter box in the front door has a significant impact on premises energy-efficiency through unnecessary heat loss, with a 20% or more contribution being possible.

Now there is a cost-effective solution through installing energy saving IdealGuard™ where possible. IdealGuard™ delivers two important benefits to users when it tightly draught seals the letter box: it reduces the loss of house energy and CO2 emissions through the letter box, ultimately contributing to lowering Global temperatures.  The indoors fitted IdealGuard™ should pay for itself in few years just from the savings on the house energy!

After paying for itself IdealGuard™ will be saving you money on energy bills year after year. The cost of energy goes up. So will go up your savings. Your home and/or office will be more energy efficient. It will not just reduce energy costs; it will also improve your home and/or office comfort and durability.

When it comes to selling or renting your property consider the advantage of adding value to your property by fitting IdealGuard™, which will enhance the property Energy Efficiency Certificate telling the buyer that your house is well insulated and energy efficient. 

5.   Is IdealGuard™ suitable for individuals of pensionable age, back sufferers and disabled?

Answer:   With  IdealGuard™ fitted your mail does not fall on the floor so the hygiene is improved and where letter box aperture is arranged at high level you do not need to bend over in order to collect your mail. In compliance with the (DDA) Disability Discrimination Act and Part M Access (Access to and Use of Buildings) IdealGuard™ will leave the required door clearance for access to the property.

 6.   Are IdealGuard™ products unique? In which way IdealGuard™ is different from other security letter/mail boxes available on the market? For example, the anti-arson ones with the fire extinguisher?

Answer:  IdealGuard™ is the Trade Mark of PowerPrize Limited. IdealGuard™ new  brand products are unique in many ways and patent protected. They are very different from any other security letter/mail box available on the market. The full list contains more than 50 great benefits to customers from a single IdealGuard™ product. Among these benefits there are very special ones: enhanced functionality and security, protection against liquids, suitable for fitting indoors at any level and outdoors, saves house energy, pays for itself, genuinely maintenance-free and fights Global Warming.

The special feature of the IdealGuard™ is that exceptional security is achieved by providing a three-tiered maintenance-free protection against arson attacks  without the use of a fire-extinguisher:

• Introduction of liquids is not possible unless under pressure and only to be expelled out due to the force of gravity;

• Solid potential hazards are filtered out at letterplate point in compliance with the adjustable security level set to customer requirements;

• The watertight strong steel body provides further protection, starves the fire from oxygen and stops all draughts.

This concept is very different to anti-arson letter/mail boxes that mostly rely on the work of a fire extinguisher.  Different types of fire extinguishers can be used but all of them have a negative side.

The fire extinguisher action begins only after the fire had started so the fire extinguisher cannot protect against  noxious substances that do not give rise to temperature. The fire extinguisher can be efficient only against some fire fuels and it is inefficient against others.

The temperature for starting of the extinguishing action in the internal fire extinguisher used in MailSafe anti-arson mail boxes is 57°C/135°F. It may be too late since flammable liquids with flash point below 32°C are defined as highly inflammable. For example, the easily obtainable petrol, which is often used in letter box arson attacks, has a flashpoint below 21°C. It takes only 15 seconds  for the fire extinguisher, such as pyroflex tube, to burst, but this is too late to protect against the explosion (100 msec).

The fire extinguishing substance (gas) is poisonous so it is a hazard to health. The amount of the fire extinguishing substance in the fire extinguisher may not be enough to deal with the fire. If there is a second fire extinguisher it may start action at the same time as the first one, so there will be no protection against the second and further arson attempts.

The responsible seller should tell you that if you are happy to have a fire extinguisher in your letter box than be ready for annual pressure tests to check if it is OK or for buying and fitting the replacement fire extinguishers every few years.

For these reasons, although the fire extinguisher might be helpful in some cases, you cannot rely on it entirely.  It is clearly much more preferable to fence in the letter box from the inflammables rather than relying on the fire extinguisher for dealing with them later on.

7.   Can the fire extinguisher and/or intumescent lining be fitted inside the IdealGuard™ as the additional means of protection against fire if I wish so?

Answer:   This is not a standard requirement but IdealGuard™ products allow fitting of a fire extinguisher and/or intumescent lining. Please contact PowerPrize Ltd to discuss your special needs.

8.   Can IdealGuard™ products be given security classification and/or fire resistance rating and used on security and/or fire rated doors?

Answer:   IdealGuard™ products provide high security and fire protection  but a security classification or a fire resistance rating cannot be given in isolation since IdealGuard™ products are not used in isolation. The indoors fitted IdealGuard™ products are designed for use with all kinds of doors and the security classification and/or fire resistance rating can be related to whole door assembly only.

The performance  of the complete door assembly with fitted  IdealGuard™ product  will depend on a number of factors e.g. door material, construction, location, etc.

As the design and construction of the security classified and/or fire rated door assemblies varies greatly, it is vital that any test report for the security classified and/or fire rated door assembly with fitted IdealGuard™ product should be available from the door manufacturer. 

Fitting  IdealGuard™ product  in accordance with these recommendations will enable you to comply with the performance requirements of the door assemblies related European and British Standards and the ACPO CPI Secured by Design  Scheme for awarding 'Police Preferred Specification' licence.

9.   Why having protection from liquids is so important?

Answer:  Protection against liquids is vital since liquid inflammable is more dangerous than the solid one. It gives out twice as much heat from the same mass, burns twice as fast and liquid inflammables are often used in letter box arson attacks.  63% of losses from all deliberate ignition fires was from fires started by liquids.

Twin Towers in New York were designed to withstand any kind of natural calamity but they collapsed on 9/11 simply because the steel frame could not withstand the exceptional heat produced by the burning liquid kerosene from the planes.

From the recent events of August 2006 in Heathrow airport  it appears that terrorists have resorted to use of liquid explosives for their attacks.

10.  Are there any restrictions to the items of mail that can be delivered?  

Answer:   As you would probably agree, there is a limit to the size of items that can be delivered even through a usual letterplate. Items like thick catalogues, magazines and thick newspapers, etc., cannot be inserted. For security reasons many letterplates are so narrow that the only way to deliver even a standard letter post item is to have it folded.

IdealGuard™ is fitted with the large size letterplate 4x12", which is suitable for daily delivery of letter post items not exceeding A4 size without folding them as long as they are not over 25mm in thickness each. This is in full compliance with the current European Standard EN BS 13724 2002 and Letter Size Guide^© introduced by Royal Mail Group Plc in 2004.

DVDs, CDs and video cassets can be easily delivered into IdealGuard™. Even magazines not exceeding A4 size and newspapers can be delivered into IdealGuard™ as long as they are flexible and not over 25mm in thickness each.  For delivery of the multitude of the post items they can be easily split into flexible stacks where each stack thickness is not over 25mm.

However, items that are different in size and flexibility from the standard letter post items - which are over A4 size and over 25mm in thickness, are not allowed normally since the unrestricted delivery would defy the security purpose. It is important to understand that there can be restriction to their delivery for the sake of your security.

Having said that, it is obvious that not all of the larger sized items are malicious. Therefore, even the majority of the non-standard items can be delivered if you expect them. For example, if you expect delivery of a non-standard letter post item, for example a catalogue, which is not flexible, but it is less than 25mm in thickness, you can leave open or lift off the IdealGuard™ Cover around the expected delivery time and the item will be easily delivered through the letter box. During the time period, when the Cover is left open or lifted off the letter box, the security will not be at its full.  This should not be a problem in many cases where the letter box full high security is not required round the clock.

11.   Can I fit IdealGuard™ myself by DIY?

Answer:  Like with every security product IdealGuard™ correct installation is essential. You receive IdealGuard™ Fitting Instructions and User Manuals with the product. If you are an experienced DIY person you can fit IdealGuard™ yourself.  However, as with that lock on your front door, it is always best to get a reliable and properly trained installer to do the work.

12.  Shall I tell the postman that I have a new secure letter box installed?

Answer:  IdealGuard™ is really good news for the long-suffering postmen and postwomen. There is a duty for a postman to deliver mail through the letter box. Our postmen are used to struggle with narrow letterplates so regardless of the letterplate size they instinctively tend to fold the mail first and then push it in. Sometimes they leave the mail items not fully inserted through the letterplate.

We cared about a postman when we designed IdealGuard™. The letterplate flap is opened by a natural downward hand action without twisting the wrist, like when the door handle is pressed down. Delivering mail, especially into low level fitted letter box, becomes much easier. In addition postman's fingers are protected against pets, naughty children and tight brush draught seals that come with or without high strength secondary flap.

Delivering mail items over the letterplate flap is all that is needed for securely delivering  mail inside IdealGuard™. There is absolutely no need to push fingers inside the letter box. Fitted with the large size letterplate 4x12", it can easily accept all items of mail up to A4 size without folding and with IdealGuard™ this large size letterplate does not undermine the letter box security.  

All this relieves work of a postman and gives him protection at work. Like with everything new it helps if this is explained to the postman when he encounters IdealGuard™ for the first time so he can realise his benefits right away.

13.  Was IdealGuard™ tested?

Answer:  Yes, IdealGuard™ was tested for the environmental protection and for fire resistance. 

The IP (Ingress Protection) Rating  achieved is IP66 meaning totally protected against dust and protected against high pressure water jets from any direction with limited ingress permitted.

In the  Fire Resistance Test  the perimeter seal remained intact and even retained its original colour after 30 min of exposure in the open flame with the temperature near 1400^oC so 30 min is not the limit.

IdealGuard™ features superb characteristics, it is easy-to-handle and reliable in operation.