News Articles:
In My Humble Opinion - 19/05/2009 It sometimes seems a bit rich to bang on about low-energy buildings and greenhouse gas emissions when most of us drive to work in noisy, dirty, fossil-fuel-guzzling cars. | |
In My Humble Opinion - 08/05/2009 “Building teams must work together to ensure sustainability, says study commissioned by the Specialist Engineering Alliance and found building projects need an integrated project team to “design-in” sustainable solutions and “design-out” waste. | |
Letter to the Editor - 28/04/2009 A report by the Specialist Engineering Alliance finds that “Building teams must work together to ensure sustainability, | |
In My Humble Opinion - 25/03/2009 One of the saddest consequences of recession is the sudden abandonment of so many noble good intentions. Last month, the pursuit of sustainable construction methods suffered a setback when it emerged that Government funding under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was being cut off | |
In My Humble Opinion - 23/02/2009 Spring must be the consultation season. On my desk are no fewer than four bulging files, each one containing a Government proposal for improving energy efficiency and each currently out for consultation. | |
International Isover contest wins unprecedented support - 18/02/2009 This year’s international competition, sponsored by Saint-Gobain Isover, for students of architecture and engineering to design a building along passive house lines, attracted unprecedented interest when it was officially launched in the UK this month. | |
Isover system wins a third Robust Detail - 04/02/2009 An acoustic system that is currently capable of providing housebuilders with up to three credits under the Code for Sustainable Homes while significantly reducing their build costs has gained a third Robust Detail for Insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover. | |
Isover insulation to wrap up Ecobuild - 02/02/2009 Newly available solutions from the UK’s leading insulation innovator Isover will feature on Saint-Gobain’s début stand (2365) at the world’s biggest event dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment, Ecobuild (March 3-5, Earls Court). | |
In My Humble Opinion - 20/01/2009 The political tension between Russia and neighbouring Ukraine might seem to have little impact upon the average UK householder. But when Russia turned off gas supplies into Ukraine during January’s cold snap, it wasn’t just the Ukrainians who felt the chill. | |
Isover launches CPD on sustainable compliance - 09/01/2009 Guidance on how glass mineral wool insulation contributes to Passive House design and can help to deliver up to 30 credits in the Code for Sustainable Homes is now available in a RIBA-approved CPD from Saint-Gobain Isover. | |
In My Humble Opinion - 18/12/2008 Which of the following is the odd one out? Aviation fuel duty, Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), Community Energy Savings Target (CEST) and the auction of Carbon Emissions Permits under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)? | |
Isover opens international competition - 17/12/2008 Insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover is inviting submissions for its 2009 international architectural student competition which has prize money totalling €6,500 at stake. | |
Isover opens regional distribution centre - 11/12/2008 Insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover has opened a regional distribution centre to further improve its service to customers. | |
Insulating against Passive House apathy - 09/12/2008 Players in the UK construction industry are becoming more familiar with European Passive House philosophy although they still require guidance about what it means and what their options are, in a plethora of sustainable, ecological and energy efficient solutions, to turn the concept into reality. | |
What's in store in 2009? - 28/11/2008 The construction industry in general may be continuing to downturn but the Government is sticking with its aim to have at least an 80% reduction in carbon emissions from existing housing stock by 2050. Such a focus on insulation is unprecedented and it is obvious builders stand to realise huge business benefits in 2009. | |
In My Humble Opinion - 21/11/2008 The close of 2008 saw the publication of two very important documents, the significance of which so far seems to have passed most people by, but both could have a huge and unprecedented impact on house owners and the housing stock over the coming years. | |
Isover data shows Passive House refurbishment can save 95% - 21/11/2008 Refurbishing buildings to Passive House standards can improve their energy performance by up to 95%, according to the UK’s insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover. | |
Isover insulation helps breathe new life into university - 20/11/2008 Glass mineral wool insulation from Saint-Gobain Isover has helped the University of Cambridge’s Department of Architecture realise a studio building that “seriously addresses sustainability in its construction | |
Isover launches ductwork CPD - 12/11/2008 Advice on how to protect ventilation ductwork against fire risk and specifying for the latest regulations is given in a new CPD from the technical division of UK insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover | |
Isover’s new three-credit Robust Detail saves housebuilders money 27/10/2008 Insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover has gained a second Robust Detail for an acoustic system that is now capable of providing housebuilders with three credits under the Code for Sustainable Homes and at the same time significantly reducing their build costs. | |
Isover’s lightweight ducting makes its UK debut 20/10/2008 Climaver Plus R, a pre-insulated lightweight ducting system from Saint-Gobain Isover, has delivered significant cost savings on its first UK application - the installation of a new heating and ventilating system as part of a health centre refurbishment | |
Isover launches national network of HVAC Installers 09/10/2008 The first members of a national network of installers of a revolutionary ductwork system that replaces the traditional sheet metal and insulation approach with rigid insulation boards have been inducted by Saint-Gobain Isover. | |
Isover goes green in Wales 09/10/2008 Insulation from Saint-Gobain Isover was specified for its green credentials for the first timber frame school to be built for Powys County Council. | |
Building Products' Roundtable - 29/09/2008 Interview with Gerry Mitchell, Head of Innovation at Saint-Gobain Isover UK | |
Isover celebrates a 99% record - 26/09/2008 Insulation giant Saint-Gobain Isover is celebrating a 99% customer service record set over two months running by its haulier TM Logistics. | |
Brian Dolan, MD of Saint-Gobain Isover UK - A Personal Profile - 09/05/2008 Brian answers searching questions on his likes, dislikes and ambitions in an interview for Constructor Magazine |
INSULATING AGAINST THE FUTURE
The Department of Health’s creation of a £100 million Energy Fund to help NHS organisations improve their energy efficiency in the light of the Climate Change Programme is welcome news, especially since the savings will be ploughed back into patient care.
But what options do procurers have? Gerry Mitchell, innovations manager at leading UK glass wool insulation manufacturer Saint-Gobain Isover, advises.When it is possible to insulate a home in Europe so well that it can be heated with just a few tea lights, the potential for improving the thermal performance of healthcare buildings becomes too good to ignore.
Of course, in an ideal world these measures are designed in from the beginning so that a brand-new healthcare building gets off to the best possible start in terms of optimum energy performance. Glass wool insulation in the roof, walls and floors helps to achieve this.
But glass wool insulation can also help the many buildings that would otherwise be demolished to make way for a bigger, better replacement because often that is the most cost effective way of solving an energy-deficiency problem.
However, this process is also incredibly disruptive, especially if the new building has to be built on the footprint of the old as is usually the case on restricted brownfield sites. Patients least of all cannot be expected to handle such disruption.
Where it is viable to retain the existing building, a number of measures can be taken to improve its energy performance, ranging from overcladding and façade treatments, through photovoltaic roofing and solar panels to glazing that encourages the use of natural light and ventilation, to name just a few.
But the simplest and probably the most cost-effective way is with glass wool insulation. Improving levels of this in the roof and external walls as well as insulating plant and equipment makes the single biggest impact on how the building performs.
Depending on the building’s original construction and current state of repair, glass wool insulation can be added to the external fabric or to the actual structure of the building, for instance, blown wool in the cavities of traditional brick and block walls
Where this is not possible, glass wool insulation can be added internally like dry lining, usually incorporating some form of framing system, and with the high-performance of current compressed insulations, the reduction in internal floor space is minimised.
Determining that insulation is the best way to improve the energy performance of an existing healthcare building is not the end of the story however. Choices then need to be made about what type of insulation to use.
More and more specifiers and users are insisting on the use of insulation materials that not only deliver technical performance but also come with exceptional green credentials, with the BRE Green Guide to Specification a common point of reference.
Isover insulation is a glass wool product manufactured from silica sand, the earth’s most abundantly naturally-occurring mineral. Inorganic and completely inert, it will not sustain fire or vermin nor breed or promote bacteria or fungi.
More than 80% of the raw material used in the production process is recycled post-consumer glass, from building regeneration projects for example, or reprocessed waste from bottle and flat glass manufacture that would otherwise go to landfill.
Consider also that it takes one cubic metre of the raw material to create 150m3 of glass wool insulation without the use of CFCs, HCFCs or other environmentally damaging gases. That the production of one tonne of glass wool insulation releases about 0.8 tonnes of CO2. Then that the annual CO2 saving that can be realised by building in glass wool amounts to as much as six tonnes.
Assuming a useful lifespan of 50 years, using glass wool can save up to 300 tonnes of CO2 – 375 times as much as the CO2 emissions caused by its production.
And when it comes to production and transportation, glass wool insulation “pays for itself” within a few days. Comparing an upper floor slab of one cubic metre in reinforced, uninsulated concrete (U-value = 3.5 W/m2K) with one insulated with 35cm glass wool (U-value = 0.1 W/m2K), the former loses 360 KWh per square metre per year while the latter comes in at a mere 10 KWh. This saves 350 kWh per square metre per year.
Compared to the annual energy savings of 350 KWh/m², the energy needed for production, transportation and installation of the glass wool insulation amounts to a mere 22 kWh so it pays for itself in less than 10 days.
Sometimes the most effective solutions are the simplest.