Finding out how you first met us, why you were looking or just where helps us understand our customers a little better. That might just help us make even better products and help you lower energy bills further still.

OK, we understand that it probably wasn’t a great romantic moment or a life-changing event but we would still like to know… Did you see us at a friends house? At an exhibition? In an advert on Facebook? While Googling for a letterbox, Were you introduced by another website or an individual? or perhaps it was something completely different?

Whether mundane or funny, obscure or simple  we would still love to know, so please leave a comment below or contact is via our contact page.

Brighton and Hove 1010 project, aimed at helping improve energy efficiency, has given away 400 Ecoflaps as part of an energy saving pack handed out for free to local people.

Each energy saving pack contained:
1x EnviR energy monitor
1 x Letterbox Ecoflap (white)
1 x Radiator Booster (mark 3)
1 x Radiator Reflector Sheets (6 radiator pack)
1 x Window Insulating Film kit
1 x Door draught excluder (slides under door)
1 x draught excluder 5m roll for windows and doors (p profile, white)

Read more here.

We were also delighted to hear that more groups are looking to help their local communities to save energy and invite groups to contact us or our resellers for help in sourcing Ecoflaps. Our thanks to Nigel’s Eco Store for letting us know how they had helped in Brighton.

We would love to help support community projects like this and Sustainable Staveley  and Energy Alton  so if you know of one in your area please let us know.

We had a great show at Ecobuild this year, why not have a look at our amateur footage here.

Will we see you there next year?

From the time he could walk, my husband Richard Victor Jessel has always been something of a doodler and “ideas” man. As a child, the local villagers used to entrust him with their faulty clocks to get them going again!

Before I knew him, a large period of his life was spent in the field of electronics. He had his own firm with 15 employees and designed and manufactured metal detectors. During this time he designed many other things, including pipe tracing equipment, test equipment for photo reactive lens and devices for silver recovery in the photographic industry. He is a member of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors and is a Mensan.

The Start of The Flap – No Draughts, No Rattles, No Springs

When Richard first knew me, he was so irritated by my cat flap rattling and blowing that he suggested he could invent a cat door that never rattled or blew open. Without realising what was in store, I said to him “if you think you can do it, then go into the garage and make one for me.”

Richard eventually emerged with a cat flap that was totally impervious to wind. The idea was immediately patented.

The new concept was called Petway and was introduced to Cat Exhibitions, Crufts and Catteries and was shown on the BBC’s programme “Tomorrow’s World”.

The first Petway was used constantly by our five cats over 5 years with no draughts, rattles or banging. (20 years later the flap is apparently still in constant use)!

A well known fire door manufacturer took an interest in the idea and offered to build one and install it in a suitable position to trial the door. Working for the NHS I was given permission for us to trial and install the door in a large hospital in Reading.

It was built as a fire door, but it would have involved high financial outlet to have it fire tested so it was installed as an external door outside the busy gymnasium/physiotherapy department. It was filmed for BBC Television South, “News Around.”

We were told that a fire door in that particular position with that amount of traffic would be giving trouble within 6 months and last no more than 9 months. In fact it lasted for five years, accepting 24-hour traffic including porters with trolleys, disabled persons, etc. During this time it kept draughts at bay and never blew open.

Eventually, after 5 years, a top hinge had loosened and scuffed the floor. All the original personnel maintenance staff had moved on and no-one remembered who put it in. That area has now been rebuilt. Despite this, it had achieved the aim of a good trial under all conditions of use and weather.

The concept and idea of this door has been further developed on the drawing board and is saved and hidden for the future. Other variations are under a new patent.

Richard’s mind was continually active and he thought that the attributes of the cat flap could be applied to a Letter Box. Letter boxes have the same problems as cat flaps and to alleviate these conditions they have needed very strong springs to keep them shut when not in use. These springs can be a source of damaged mail, and in some cases damaged fingers.

Richard’s design obviates all of these, with no springs or draughts or rattles, plus it has the advantage of accepting large and thick mail. Just as in the Petway and Fire Door , the letter plate is very light to operate and will not trap mail or fingers.

With all three of these inventions we couldn’t afford the moulding tools at the time despite the unit being attractive to the manufacturing and marketing world and users of product.

The frequent response was ….. ”it’s good, we like it and If someone was to take this on, then we would HAVE to have it” . A large cat flap manufacturer was prepared to take on the letter plate manufacture – but two years down the line seemed an awfully long time to wait. It needed just ONE manufacturer to take them on but no one was prepared to take the plunge.

We knew we had good products and the dreams stayed with us for many months and years, with highs and lows during the decade of the 90s, but money had to be earned and Richard and I continued our employment. This was the priority and inventions were put onto the back burner at that time.

The Lively Mind

Richard and I continued in employment and worked in many interesting and challenging positions, the most recent being a “No Touch” Television Panel for bathrooms. Many were installed in major hotels, including the “Sofitel” Terminal 5 at Heathrow. We had been keeping up the Patent fees every year and just when it had three more years to go, I overheard Richard say he wasn’t going to renew them any further. Perhaps something afresh in his mind would come along later that he felt worth patenting and start the process all over again?

I didn’t reveal that I’d heard him state this, and no way was I going to let this Patent fade. I thought of all the earlier years of dedication, time, sweat and money that had gone into the project. Just because it didn’t get off the ground then, despite all our high hopes, didn’t mean it wouldn’t work today. I’d been keeping up with news and research and in 2008 it was a very different scenario, despite the country being in recession once again.

Everyone was concerned with saving energy and money; eco, green and renewable energy were the ‘in’ words. Everything was about how to save! save! save!

Would our concept in letter plate design fit into all of this?

Wouldn’t this be a good time to look into a bit of research and perhaps make this “draught cutting, never blowing open” patented letter plate work? I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

I’d arranged for us to become Exhibitors at the National Housing Federation Development Exhibition at Olympia 2008. I broke the news to Richard, who had to arrange leave for a few days.

He was gobsmacked and more so when he realised he was coming along – as the Exhibitors Pass stated – as an “Assistant”!

Evolvement

We were selected as one of the 10 finalists in the “Green Shoots” Competition at Earls Court Ecobuild during 2008.

People flocked to see our STL models and prototypes, some of whom initially doubted how it could work without springs. We had decided that by Ecobuild 2009 we would launch the product as a marketable unit but first as an internal letter plate rather than a full letter box system to get the consumer used to the system. This would necessitate only removing other draught excluders from the back of the door instead of the whole letter box system.

A company that had head hunted Richard for development and design had agreed to help the letter plate come to market in return for Richard’s prowess. Unfortunately this did not come to fruition and we were obliged to take on the project ourselves.

We secured a loan from the bank matching our own investment. Together with Technical Drawing Engineering help, and finding a manufacturing source abroad, the ECOFLAP was born. (UK manufacturing, unfortunately, was prohibitively expensive).

To keep the pennies down, printing, leaflets, brochures, web site design, exhibition stands were all in-house. I’d booked our stand for Ecobuild 2009 and three months before had promoted the future launch of Ecoflap on the website. After frantic efforts, our launch day arrived and our Ecoflaps were delivered the day before the Exhibition. Ouch!

Progress

During 2009 Richard and his “team” produced an Ecoflap with extras such as soft rubber moulding around the mating surfaces of the flap part – the EcoflapEX – which is now the standard.

Other Eco Resellers had been approaching us to sell Ecoflap online and this continued throughout the year. One of our resellers, unknown to us, had a National promotion in the Sunday Telegraph and another reseller in the Sunday Observer and we literally sold out following Xmas 2010. Tension was high to get another consignment manufactured in time before the Chinese New Year with orders building up all the time. This wasn’t easy for us but somehow we kept our heads above water and once the consignment was delivered we got our orders out.

We entered the Barclay One Small Step National Business Competition to try to win a much needed bonus for our business – £50000 for our dreams of growth. We ended up as runner up, which got us nothing other than wide-spread support!

In the meantime, Richard completed the Twin Flap system for use in manufactured doors and for suppliers of door furniture. Two prototypes were made plus an STL model, finished in chrome and brass and showed for the first time at Ecobuild 2011. Because most suppliers were only interested in large quantities, Richard and I realised that we had to go down the investment route and become a Ltd Company.

We were approached by the BBC again and were asked to attend Shepherds Bush TV Studios to take part in an Investment Show. What was clear was that the BBC emphasis is on entertainment, not manufacturing!

A Real Opportunity

Richard received a call from Radio BBC Berkshire and as a result Maggie Philbin of “Tomorrow’s World “ fame interviewed Richard at home. Little did we know that this was heard by a potential investor which ultimately resulted in Jessel Innovations Partnership being formed as Ecoflaps Ltd, comprising five Directors.

The Ecoflaps are selling well and we have many plans for the future. A new patent was obtained during the year and we have just filed for a PCT Patent to enable exporting abroad.

Our first priority is finishing off the tool for the Twin Ecoflap and getting this complete letter box system onto the market followed by the Petway.

The Flap Invention

Googling Ecoflap demonstrates how well it has been received. Ecoflaps are now known throughout North America and Europe. Ecoflap is acknowledged by The Energy Saving Trust and their website describes it as a “brilliant design” and a “brilliant solution”.

Ecoflap has been tested at wind speeds of 114 mph by a Telford Company and it still remained closed!

The Ecoflap principle can be scaled to any size so long as the positive and negative surface area ratios are maintained. The number of possible uses is virtually limitless.

Setting up a Charity

Richard holds many patents and one of his main ambitions is to set up a charity to inspire other people to invent and prevent their inventions being wasted. An idea often isn’t developed because of the “surely if it would work then someone would have thought of it before” syndrome. There is nothing more annoying than to see an idea you have had and abandoned turning up in the market many years later!

He feels a Charity could help to prevent the waste of so much creativity amongst the huge number of would be Inventors.

He would also like to give young children and students the basic understanding of very easy electronics in an uncomplicated format. His own young grandson has demonstrated a fascination for this subject and a great desire to improve his knowledge of how electronics work.

One recent Ecoflap good news story that has come to light is that of a certain Close, that we won’t name as they don’t want publicity.

One avant garde resident bought an Ecoflap and fitted it to their door.

So pleased with the draught free, noiseless result were they, that  they passed on the good news to their neighbours.

They in turn each bought their own Ecoflap and passed on the good news further.

Soon the entire Close had been fitted with Ecoflaps and to help complete the process, Richard Jessel, the Inventor of Ecoflap along with help from Mike Munday turned up to help install the last ones.

We think this is the first 100% Ecoflap Close. If you know better or you have an Ecoflap Street, let us know and you could win £100 to your chosen charity.

In line with the development and growth of Ecoflap and Jessel Innovations, our existing business structure has had to evolve to meet the new challenges and opportunities.

The Partnership that has been Jessel Innovations and all Ecoflap brand products from will in future come under an new organization Ecoflaps Ltd.

Ecoflaps Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 07816243.

Registered office:12 OAKLEY ROAD, CAVERSHAM, READING, BERKSHIRE, RG4 7RL

Any comments and further press information please contact us here

We have all enjoyed the red-hot weather in September and October 2011 but the coming winter is predicated to be super cold.

Saving energy and keeping warm on a budget, even in an older house, are part of Nigel’s mission to keep us all safe from the coming freeze.

Ecoflap working well to keep Fiona warm!

First off he attacks the big hole in Fiona’s house, the letterbox, and as expected he fits the best solution around our Ecoflap.

The result? Instantly the house feels warmer!

Next he worked on improving the effectiveness of radiators using low power fans and heat reflectors.

Following that using a simple double glazing film and a hair dryer he produces near invisible extra draught protection for old windows.

Eventually tracking down remaining draughts around doors and stopping them with excluders to seal around them.

Ending the attack on draughts with wooden floor board gap filler to discreetly seal them too.

Everything, including the Ecolfap all came in at a cost of £101.84 from Nigel’s Eco Store.

Jessel Innovations Ecoflap delighted to receive the prestigious ‘Industry Excellence Award’ from Building and Facilities News

Anne Jessel (pictured) said that Ecoflap was fast becoming a well known and trusted brand.

The public response at exhibitions like the National Housing Federation Exhibitions, Home Improvements Show, Grand Designs Show and Ecobuild have consistently shown that the product has a unique place in a market largely still stuck in the 1840s.

Nearly all other letter plates can adversely affect thermostatic controls, directly lose heat, create noise, let in rain, trap & damage post or injure delivery personnel. Ecoflap solves these problems with innovative thought and clever design and can do so without losing the aesthetic presentation you want for your door.

It is that innovation that led Building and Facilities News to present us with the Industry Excellence Award. Richard Jessel said ‘It is great to get this level of recognition from industry. We have worked hard to make Ecoflap a success, but without the interest and support of the buying public we could not have come so far so fast.’

The next products which build on this tradition of innovation are for the other forgotton draughty hole in the wall – pet flaps. Petway, will be bringing the same level of quality and design to ensure noiseless, secure, draughtfree access for pets.

Why not subscribe to our RSS Feed and keep yourself informed of new products and information as soon as we release them.

Maggie visited Ecoflap for three hours on Wednesday 20th during BBC Radio Berkshire’s Andrew Peach Show.

The list of Richard’s inventions is long and very varied, from Canal boat systems for the French government to biofeedback systems and bomb detectors powered by the world service. We know head-spinning conversations with prolific inventors such as Richard can be exhausting. Sorry!

Yet, with decades of inventing condensed into just three hours the Ecoflap stood out to her experienced mind as the most likely commercial invention to succeed.

She listed the key problems for inventors as not just needing financial capital but also a collection of other business skills to get their products to market. Getting a team of people together to make things focused and successful. They are things we at Ecoflap understand all too well.

We are always open to ideas to take Ecoflap further and to help develop it and other Jessel Innovation products. So if you think you have the skills or other capital to offer Ecoflap then please do get touch with us here.

If not, but you would still like to support great British innovation, all you need do is spend £20 and we will send you a brilliant design classic of the future.

Oh and if you’d like to catch Maggie and Richard on iPlayer over the next few days, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00hwbzw

Maggie’s own site is here http://www.maggiephilbin.com – Thanks for coming to see us Maggie, we very much enjoyed it.