ERA: Door and Window Security Kit for UK Homes

If you are getting a household ready for the sort of emergency that leaves a home empty, damaged or without power, the first things to sort out are the ones that keep the weather and unwelcome visitors out. ERA makes the hardware that does that job: door locks, handles and hinges, window locks and seals, padlocks, alarms and door entry kit, plus weatherseals and sash window repair through its associated brands. This page sets out what each type of kit does for a household, how it fits a preparedness plan, and how to get support.

The logic is simple. A storm that strips a seal or a flood that swells a door lets water and wind in, and a home left dark during a power cut is more exposed than one with sound locks and a working alarm. ERA makes locks, handles and hinges, and states that door and window fabricators and installers, locksmiths and police authorities across the country have looked to it as security experts for many years¹. So the kit on this page is not about gadgets: it is about the fabric of the house holding up when conditions are against it.

Use the sections below by kit type. Each explains what the product does in an emergency, what to check before you rely on it, and where to find the fuller household guide on this site.

What ERA makes for UK homes

ERA's range covers the parts of a house that a household touches every day and that matter most when something goes wrong: the locks that keep a door shut, the handles and hinges that let it open and close reliably, the window furniture and seals that keep rain out, padlocks for sheds and outbuildings, and alarms and door entry systems that warn you or let you see who is calling. Alongside the core range sit associated brands: Schlegel Weatherseals for draught and weather sealing, Ventrolla for sash window repair, and FakeTV.

For a household preparing for emergencies, the value of this kit is that it works without power and without you. A good lock does not need a battery. A sound weatherseal keeps a storm outside whether or not the heating is on. That is why security hardware belongs in the same plan as water, torches and a backup charger, and why the Home Security: A Household Guide on this site is the place to start when you are deciding what your house needs.

Door security

The door is the point a household most needs to get right, and the standard to ask for is PAS 24. Official guidance for doors names PAS 24 as the certification to look for¹. When you are choosing a door, or checking one you already have, that marking tells you the door has been tested as a complete unit, not just the lock inside it.

In an emergency, door security does two jobs. The first is the everyday one: a solid, well-fitted door with a good lock is the main deterrent to burglary, and door and window security is treated as the priority. ERA makes locks, handles and hinges, and states that door and window fabricators and installers, locksmiths and police authorities across the country have looked to it as security experts for many years³. The second is the one people forget. A door that does not fit properly, because a hinge has dropped or a frame has swollen after flooding, will not lock, will not keep water out and may not open when you need to get out. Handles and hinges are therefore not cosmetic: they are what keeps the door working.

• Check that your doors carry PAS 24 certification, or ask your installer for the certificate¹.
• Test every lock and hinge through the year, not just when you fit it.
• After a flood or a long dry spell, check that doors still close and lock cleanly before the next storm season.
• Keep a spare key with a trusted neighbour, not under a mat or in a shed.

If you are reviewing the whole house, work through the Home Security: A Household Guide alongside this page. It sets out the wider picture: lighting, routines, and what to do about a home that will be empty while you are away or evacuated.

Window security

Windows are the other half of the envelope. Police guidance is specific: replacement windows should always be a security-accredited product to a standard such as PAS 24:2022², and new windows and doors should be certified by Secure by Design³. Those two references are what to quote to a installer, and what to look for on the paperwork.

For preparedness, window security has a weather dimension as well as a crime one. A window that does not close properly lets in driven rain during a storm, loses heat in a cold snap, and can be forced more easily. Locks and restrictors that keep a window open for ventilation but not wide enough for a person to climb through are the practical compromise, and they are the sort of fitting ERA supplies.

When a storm is forecast, walk the house and check every window catch. The Storms, Snow and Ice: A Household Guide on this site explains what to do before, during and after, and the Flooding: A Household Guide covers what to do if water is rising. Window seals and locks are the parts of that plan you can fix in advance.

Alarms and door entry

Alarms and door entry kit are the part of the range that overlaps most directly with emergency planning, because they are what warn you when something is wrong. Two rules matter more than any product choice.

First, buy only alarms marked with a current British Standards or European (CE) safety mark, which shows they have been tested to a recognised standard⁴. Second, fit smoke alarms properly: at least one on each floor of your home, in the hallway and landing, and in the rooms that carry the highest risk, such as living rooms and bedrooms⁵. Heat alarms are recommended for the kitchen and garage, where smoke alarms would false-alarm⁷. If you have any fuel-burning appliance, fit BS EN 50291-1 compliant carbon monoxide alarms in every room with one, and in temporary accommodation such as caravans and boats, testing them regularly and replacing batteries as needed⁶.

For intruder alarms and CCTV, police guidance says the equipment should meet British Standards (PD6662)³. That is the reference to ask an installer for. Door entry systems, whether a simple intercom or a camera, let you check who is at the door without opening it, which matters more when the evenings are dark and the street lighting is out during a power cut.

Rented homes have their own expectations. Official housing guidance recommends that all rented homes are equipped with smoke alarms and heat detectors which are mains-powered with integral battery back-up, wirelessly interlinked and installed by a competent electrician to British Standard BS 5839-6:2019 Grade D LD2⁹. In Scotland, the law on what alarms a home must have is set out separately, and there is no need for alarms to be fitted in communal areas such as entry halls and stairways in tenements and blocks of flats¹⁰.

For the wider picture on fire and carbon monoxide in the home, see Home Emergencies: Fire, Carbon Monoxide, Gas Leaks and Burst Pipes.

Padlocks

Padlocks secure the parts of a property that are easy to overlook: sheds, gates, garages and outbuildings. In an emergency they matter for two reasons. The first is that a shed often holds the tools, fuel and equipment a household relies on when the power is out, so it is worth locking properly. The second is that after a flood or a storm, when fences are down and properties are empty, outbuildings are more exposed than usual.

• Use a padlock that is rated for outdoor use, so it does not seize after rain or frost.
• Keep the key somewhere you can reach in the dark, not inside the shed it locks.
• Check hasps and hinges as well as the padlock: a good lock on a rotten hasp achieves nothing.
• After a storm, check that gates and shed doors still close and lock before you refill them.

Padlocks are one layer. The Home Security: A Household Guide explains how they fit with lighting, alarms and routine.

Weatherseals and sash window repair

Weatherseals are the quiet workhorses of a preparedness plan. A draught excluder around a door or a seal on a window keeps wind and driven rain out during a storm, holds heat in during a cold snap, and reduces the water that gets in when flooding is close. The Met Office's winter checklist includes insulating pipes as part of getting a home ready for cold weather¹¹, and seals are part of the same job: keeping the cold where it belongs, outside.

Sash window repair, through Ventrolla, is for households with original timber sash windows that stick, rattle or let the weather in. Repairing rather than replacing keeps the character of the house and restores a window that closes and seals properly, which is exactly what you want before a storm season. Ask for a survey and a written specification before any work starts, and check what the repair covers: the frame, the sashes, the cords and the seals.

For the household side of cold weather, see Heating and Cooking Without Mains Power or Gas: A Household Guide and Storms, Snow and Ice: A Household Guide.

ERA's other brands: Schlegel Weatherseals, Ventrolla and FakeTV

ERA's associated brands each do a different job for a household.

• Schlegel Weatherseals covers draught and weather sealing: the brush, bubble and blade seals that go around doors and windows to keep wind, rain and noise out. For preparedness, this is the brand to look at when a door or window lets the weather in.
• Ventrolla handles sash window repair, restoring original timber windows so they close and seal properly rather than being replaced.
• FakeTV is the third associated brand. The material for this page does not describe what the product does, so no claim is made about it here. If you are considering it as part of a home security plan, check the product description on ERA's own website before relying on it, and treat it as one layer alongside good locks, lighting and, where appropriate, an alarm.

A word of caution on names. Searches for "Fake" products can turn up malicious software rather than hardware: independent security guidance describes fake antivirus programs, detected as TROJ_FAKEAV.EHM, which users encounter when they visit malicious websites¹². If you are researching a product online, type the maker's address yourself rather than following a link from a search result or an email. The Cyber Attacks and Major IT Failures: A Household Guide on this site explains how to keep your devices and accounts safe.

Contacting ERA for support

The material for this page does not include a verified ERA telephone number or email address, so none is given here. Use the contact details published on ERA's own website, which are kept current, and have the following ready before you make contact:

• the product name and model reference;
• your proof of purchase and the date you bought it;
• photographs of the fault, if there is one;
• a note of what you have already tried.

For warranty queries, the same information applies. Keep receipts and fitting certificates, especially for doors and windows certified to PAS 24 or Secure by Design, because those certificates are part of what you are relying on¹.

If your query is about an emergency rather than a product, use the right service. Call 999 if life is at risk⁸. For flooding, the Environment Agency can be contacted on 03708 506 506¹³. For water supply problems, contact your water company; Severn Trent Water, for example, publishes its own contact routes¹⁴. For an oil tank or fuel store, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency asks householders to check oil tanks before the winter fuel top-up¹⁵. For help evacuating in an emergency, residents who need support should contact their housing provider or managing agent and tell them they need support evacuating¹⁶.

For the household side of staying in touch, see Staying Informed and in Touch in an Emergency: A Household Guide.