Insulate Magazine - April Issue 17

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Ecobuild is Evolving
Paul Forrester Technical Editor, Insulate Magazine
Under new ownership, ecobuild 2018 represented a confident transition to what will become
futurebuild in 2019. By giving more of the construction industry space to shine, it not only
showcased how buildings are built now but the methods and materials we can expect to see
in coming months and years by Paul Forrester
With several full scale houses on display around
the exhibition hall, the effect of ecobuild highlighting
more system-based approaches to construction was
arguably to dilute the impact of traditional product
manufacturing. Enough manufacturers - including from
the insulation sector - were present with impressive,
inviting stands, but the mix across the show was noticeably
different.
Insulation will always be an integral part of
construction projects as occupant comfort, energy
use and emissions targets remain high on the agenda.
Overall, however, representation from the sector was
lower key than in previous years - due, perhaps, to
both ecobuild’s change in focus, and challenges faced
by the sector throughout 2017.
Who was there?
Insulation companies were, unsurprisingly, to be found
in the Building Performance hub. Bauder had a large
presence, but concentrated on their complete roof
systems; as such they were in the Green & Blue Infrastructure
hub.
Rockwool’s stand featured their complete product
range, as well as interesting case studies to catch
the eye and a display about the distinction between
non-combustibility and Class 0 to help answer fire
performance questions.
Kingspan promoted their phenolic and polyisocyanurate
(PIR) rigid foam products, and their ‘Insight’
educational platform. Meanwhile, Recticel introduced
a new PIR range featuring a thermal conductivity of
0.019 W/mK, alongside their more established offerings.
Both Kingspan and Recticel included a vacuum
insulated panel (VIP) on their stands, while Radmat
focused on the thermal performance benefits and
insulation thickness savings of VIPs. For now, these
products continue to be offered predominantly for flat
roofs, but in coming years it will be interesting to see
how widely their use extends as the market develops
its confidence using them.
Insulation Further Afield
Many of ecobuild’s international trade pavilions
included companies offering insulation products.
Unfortunately, the level of detail available was variable
and it was rarely clear whether products were available
from a UK distributor to be able to specify.
A mineral wool product from Portugal, for example,
proudly claimed to be derived from sand thanks to
an unspecified “innovative process”. There were no
performance claims, but if nothing else it showed the
potential even for traditional insulation materials to
surprise.