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Insulate Magazine Issue 4

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The only independent<br />

insulation industry<br />

trade magazine<br />

<strong>Issue</strong> 4 / March 2017<br />

Inside:<br />

10 steps to acoustic<br />

specification<br />

Cover Story:<br />

Appetite for Actis<br />

insulated shipping<br />

container buildings<br />

is growing<br />

Looking at the advantages<br />

of BBA certification<br />

Our housing dilemma:<br />

Time to start building<br />

PAS2030:<br />

Important information<br />

for insulation installers


The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />

It takes bottle to specify<br />

insulation that’s better<br />

for the environment.<br />

TIMBER & RAFTER ROLL 40<br />

Saving energy and saving time on your build project?<br />

Superglass glass mineral wool insulation does both. It cuts<br />

energy bills, of course, and contains 84% recycled glass,<br />

stopping it going to landfill. And with Superglass, you get<br />

service that is second-to-none. Our Teamworks values mean<br />

we’ll work closely with you to deliver your ideal insulation<br />

solution, including same-day order confirmation and next-day<br />

delivery. Which means less time on site and lower costs.<br />

Our Timber & Rafter Roll is a lightweight, flexible option ideal for roofs, walls<br />

and floors with an A+ BRE Green Guide Rating. So for a greener future and great<br />

service, smart specifiers insist on Superglass.<br />

It’s a decision that really doesn’t take too much bottle.<br />

An exclusive publication for the insulation industry<br />

Published on a monthly basis by<br />

M4 Publications & Events Ltd<br />

Corser House, 17 Geen End, Whitchurch,<br />

Shropshire SY13 1AD<br />

Call 01948 759 351<br />

Outside of the UK +44 1948 759351<br />

Monday - Friday 9am - 5.30pm<br />

Website: www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

Email: contact@insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION<br />

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islands. Anyone can subscribe for free online at www.<br />

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BACK ISSUES OR REPRINTS<br />

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requested.<br />

CIRCULATION<br />

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run of 20,000<br />

©M4 PUBLISHING & EVENTS LTD<br />

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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/insulate-magazine<br />

ISSUE 4<br />

Contents<br />

Inside:<br />

A note from the Editor 4<br />

BRUFMA: Housing White Paper 6<br />

10 steps to acoustic specification 8<br />

The Rockwool Group unveils 12<br />

new brand identity<br />

Looking at the advantages of 14<br />

BBA Certification<br />

All change ahead for SAP assessments? 16<br />

Actis-insulated shipping container buildings 18<br />

Our housing dilemma: Time to start building 21<br />

PAS2030: Important information 23<br />

for insulation installers<br />

CERTIFICATE 89/2231<br />

Call 0844 381 4022 or visit www.superglass.co.uk<br />

insulatemag<br />

3


Insulation<br />

Welcome to issue 4<br />

Welcome to <strong>Issue</strong> 4 of <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, and a brand new look<br />

courtesy of our new creative team – hope you like it!<br />

Talk in the industry this month is around the latest Green Building Council report, and its<br />

stark warning that the UK needs to insulate more than one home every minute to the highest<br />

standard to ensure we meet our carbon emission targets by 2050.<br />

The target reduction in emissions is 80%, and around a third of that is attributed to poorly<br />

insulated buildings – so it’s clear something needs to be done, and fast!<br />

While the report presents a huge challenge, it’s also an unmissable opportunity to add energy<br />

efficiency (including retrofitting of insulation in the roofs, walls and floors of UK homes) as an<br />

infrastructure priority.<br />

The government have announced they’ll be working on policies for implementation as soon as<br />

possible, and here at IM we’ll keep you up to date with any further news.<br />

The continued support our magazine has had from you in the industry has been outstanding,<br />

and I look forward to meeting with you all and discussing the latest developments at EcoBuild<br />

very soon.<br />

Colin Heath, Editor<br />

Our latest arrivals have landed...<br />

...offering you 4 new lower lambda<br />

products to choose from<br />

Kingspan Kooltherm ® K103 Floorboard, K110 and K110 PLUS Soffit Board,<br />

and K118 <strong>Insulate</strong>d Plasterboard feature an advanced, fibre-free insulation<br />

core, enabling them to achieve an outstanding thermal conductivity of<br />

0.018 W/m . K. As a result, the products can enable buildings to be built to<br />

the upper levels of fabric performance with minimal thickness.<br />

www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk/lowerlambda<br />

Further information on the Kingspan<br />

range is available on:<br />

+44 (0) 1544 387 384<br />

literature@kingspaninsulation.co.uk<br />

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®<br />

Kingspan, Kooltherm and the Lion Device are Registered Trademarks of<br />

the Kingspan Group plc in the UK and other countries. All rights reserved.<br />

4 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

Housing white paper<br />

Build homes faster but not<br />

at the expense of poorer<br />

performing buildings<br />

Simon Storer Chief Executive, BRUFMA<br />

Every government for as long as we can remember has promised to build the houses<br />

the country needs, so with the release of the much-anticipated housing White Paper,<br />

“Fixing Our Broken Housing Market”, at least this government is in line with its<br />

predecessors. Only time will tell if they are any more successful. Sadly the track<br />

record is not very encouraging.<br />

The intention is clear and we are certainly in favour of speeding<br />

up the process to deliver the number of houses that has been<br />

identified for so long. But this must not be at the expense of<br />

poorer performing buildings. Effective Building Regulation and<br />

building control is essential to deliver highly energy-efficient<br />

buildings and to continue to increase the building standards for<br />

the sector.<br />

BRUFMA is therefore keen to see continued growth in the new<br />

build housing in a sustainable way which makes the most<br />

efficient use of available land.<br />

The White Paper launches a consultation with a range of<br />

recommendations to increase numbers of homes being built in<br />

the UK. But there are likely to be many conflicting views so I<br />

hope the government doesn’t use this as a way of kicking the<br />

problem into the long grass. No matter how many houses are<br />

built we must ensure that all new housing is highly energy<br />

efficient in line with our climate change objectives. Just because<br />

there is a rush to build shouldn’t be an excuse to lower the<br />

quality of the thermal performance. And we certainly don’t<br />

want to have to come back and retrofit in 20 years because the<br />

houses we build today do not meet tomorrow’s requirements.<br />

Based in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, we have been<br />

established for nearly 10 years and have been carrying<br />

out Roofing, Plumbing, Joinery, External Render, <strong>Insulate</strong>d<br />

Render and Painting Services across Scotland.<br />

Every government promises<br />

to build more houses,<br />

let’s hope this time they live<br />

up to their promises.<br />

We provide Building Services for:<br />

Private Residential Clients<br />

Housing Associations<br />

Local Authorities<br />

Commercial Developments<br />

We all know that good insulation as part of the ‘fabric first’<br />

approach to the whole building stock is essential, as this<br />

ensures the building envelope delivers high performance, low<br />

maintenance and long term energy efficiency which will enable<br />

the introduction of low operating temperature and efficient<br />

heating systems.<br />

The White Paper does recognise the need to continually review<br />

the current energy performance standards with regard to<br />

climate change targets and to domestic fuel poverty, but this<br />

must be extended to include the performance in flood risk areas<br />

of housing and the materials used in their construction. So we<br />

look forward to more details on how this can be achieved.<br />

Our Clients....<br />

Our Accreditations....<br />

For more information about BRUFMA visit<br />

www.brufma.co.uk.<br />

6 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

www.pro-cast.co.uk


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

PART 2<br />

10 steps to acoustic<br />

specification<br />

Mike Carrick AMIOA Head of Acoustics, Siderise Group<br />

For over 40 years SIDERISE has been providing innovative insulation solutions for<br />

Acoustic, Fire and Thermal applications throughout the UK<br />

Step 3 - Identify the sound path / paths<br />

More often than not, it is not possible to reduce the noise at<br />

source or insulate the receiver. When this is the case, the only<br />

option is to consider how the sound energy travels from the<br />

source to the receiver and by what mechanisms. Is it airborne,<br />

impact, structure-born sound transmission, a direct sound path<br />

or a flanking sound path (indirect)?<br />

Only once the source, the receiver and the possible sound<br />

paths are understood, can a possible solution be considered<br />

to mitigate against it and therefore reduce the noise levels<br />

transmitted. An example would be a building façade, where the<br />

source may be a busy road, airport or railway line. The receiver<br />

would be the rooms inside and the path elements would be the<br />

façade and its acoustic properties.<br />

In very simple terms, if the receiver was an office, internal<br />

desired noise levels may be 45dB(A), but an apartment may be<br />

35dB(A). If you then know what the noise level of the source<br />

is, say for example, a road with noise levels of 70dB(A), then<br />

you would need the façade to reduce the sound by 25dB for an<br />

office, or 35dB for an apartment. Based on an allowance of 5dB<br />

difference between laboratory versus site measured values, the<br />

façade performance would likely be 30dB Rw for an office, or<br />

40dB Rw for an apartment.<br />

Step 4 - Understand the acoustic criteria<br />

There are many references to the dB, such as ‘Rw’, ‘Dnf,w’,<br />

‘LnT,w’, ‘DnT,w’ ‘Dne,w’ ‘Leq’ ‘Lmax’, to name but a few. It is very<br />

important to understand the differences between these as they<br />

are not numerically comparable. Stating a dB requirement is not<br />

enough. This is like degrees in temperature with 0 degrees<br />

Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit, 273 degrees Kelvin and 427.67<br />

degrees Rankine all being the same temperature. So if you say<br />

300 degrees or 45dB it is not enough information. 45dB what?<br />

Commonly used in high rise façade buildings in reference to<br />

airborne sound insulation is ‘Rw’, ‘Dnf,w’ and ‘DnT,w’. An Rw<br />

value is a laboratory test value for the direct sound transmission<br />

of a building component or construction, such as a floor, wall,<br />

door, glass etc. A Dnf,w value is also a laboratory test value for<br />

the flanking sound transmission of a system, such as a Raised<br />

Access Floor, Suspended Ceiling System, Façade System etc.<br />

A DnT,w is a final site measured value for ‘room-to-room’ or<br />

‘floor-to-floor’ sound transmission and includes both direct and<br />

flanking sound transmission, airborne and structure born.<br />

In my next article, I’ll look into the design restraints when it<br />

comes to acoustic material and how you should always look<br />

to treat the lowest performing element.<br />

For further information about SIDERISE or for specific<br />

technical advice visit: www.siderise.com,<br />

email technical@siderise.com, or call 01656 730833<br />

8 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk


SOUND REDUCTION<br />

Superior sound insulation helps reduce unwanted<br />

noise from both internal and external sources.<br />

This is ROCK, re-engineered<br />

for a fast, easy and perfect fit.<br />

From volcanic rock to high performance building insulation. See<br />

ROCK re-engineered to provide high performance insulation solutions<br />

for today’s building projects. ROCKWOOL insulation is easy to use,<br />

dense, durable and performs because of its origins in natural stone.<br />

Discover how the transformation happens, and why ROCKWOOL<br />

insulation performs consistently across so many applications.<br />

THERMAL PERFORMANCE<br />

Stone wool insulation doesn’t just keep buildings warm<br />

today, it maintains its insulating properties for years to come.<br />

SEARCH ROCKWOOL INSULATION ORIGINS<br />

© 2016 ROCKWOOL Ltd. All rights reserved.<br />

DIMENSIONAL STABILITY<br />

Density, volume and structural integrity provide<br />

a perfect fit for maintaining performance.


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />

This is ROCK, re-engineered<br />

for a fast, easy and perfect fit.<br />

The Rockwool Group<br />

unveils new brand identity<br />

From volcanic rock to high performance building insulation. See<br />

ROCK re-engineered to provide high performance insulation solutions<br />

for today’s building projects. ROCKWOOL insulation is easy to use,<br />

Brand evolution for the global leader dense, in sustainable durable stone and wool performs solutionsbecause of its origins in natural stone.<br />

Discover how the transformation happens, and why ROCKWOOL<br />

insulation performs consistently across so many applications.<br />

The ROCKWOOL Group, the world’s leading global<br />

supplier of stone wool, unveils the latest evolution<br />

of its brand identity together with a new “Purpose”<br />

statement and corporate video.<br />

UCTION<br />

The Group’s brand evolution includes a new ROCKWOOL symbol – a graphic<br />

representation of a volcano. The symbol stands for the commitment to enrich<br />

modern living through processes and products that exist harmoniously, and it<br />

will be used across all ROCKWOOL Group daughter brands.<br />

This evolution aligns the branding of the ROCKWOOL Group’s diverse product<br />

portfolio to better demonstrate to our customers and other stakeholders the<br />

breadth and depth of how they use the natural power of volcanic stone to<br />

enrich and transform modern living, while addressing the challenges of the<br />

future. It will also support ROCKWOOL’s future geographical expansion.<br />

The new corporate video will be officially launched through a Thunderclap<br />

campaign – a large-scale scheduled social post, in which supporters share<br />

n helps reduce the message unwanted simultaneously to build awareness of the global challenges of<br />

and external modern sources. living, and the solutions that already exist today that can go a long<br />

way towards solving them.<br />

The new “Purpose” statement – “Release the natural power of stone to enrich<br />

modern living” – conveys that all businesses within the ROCKWOOL Group<br />

have one overarching goal: to enrich modern living by improving the life of<br />

everyone who comes in contact with their products.<br />

The ROCKWOOL Group’s stone wool products comprise a diverse range of<br />

original solutions, including fire-resilient, high-performing ROCKWOOL<br />

building insulations; Rockfon opera-standard acoustic panels; Rockpanel<br />

forward-designed external cladding; ROCKWOOL Technical Insulation custom<br />

industrial applications; Grodan substrates for abundant fresh produce with<br />

less water usage; and Lapinus mineral fibres for modern transportation, antivibration<br />

applications and water management solutions.<br />

ROCKWOOL’s products help people across the globe to create a more<br />

sustainable footprint and combat challenges related to increasing levels<br />

of urbanisation. Throughout the coming year, the ROCKWOOL Group will<br />

continue to focus on creating awareness on the challenges of modern living,<br />

and the solutions that already exist today that can go a long way towards<br />

solving them.<br />

12 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

SEARCH ROCKWOOL INSULATION ORIGINS<br />

I am proud of the ROCKWOOL Group’s<br />

long heritage in harnessing the power<br />

of one of the world’s most abundant<br />

natural resources in sustainable and<br />

innovative solutions that help solve the<br />

challenges of modern living. The updated<br />

brand identity marks an important<br />

evolution in the way we talk about our<br />

company, conveying a consistent vision<br />

and shared heritage across our diverse<br />

product portfolio’s full range.<br />

Mirella Vitale, ROCKWOOL Senior Vice President for<br />

Group Marketing, Communications & Public Affairs<br />

insulatemag<br />

Th<br />

for<br />

From<br />

ROCK<br />

for to<br />

dense<br />

Disco<br />

insula 13


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />

A site for<br />

sore eyes:<br />

Looking at the<br />

advantages<br />

of BBA<br />

Certification<br />

As you well know, major<br />

construction work on building sites<br />

involves a huge amount of product<br />

and materials checking, not least<br />

to make sure everything meets the<br />

exacting requirements of Building<br />

Regulations. This can be stressful at<br />

the best of times and a helping hand<br />

is always welcome.<br />

BBA Agrément certificates are<br />

regarded as quite simply the<br />

best assurances you can get<br />

for your off-site products.<br />

With BBA’s 50 years of<br />

unrivalled expertise in<br />

building and construction<br />

certification, it’s easy to<br />

see why.<br />

That’s why more and more people are coming to the BBA for<br />

off-site certification of their products. For many years now, our<br />

work in the offsite construction sector has brought peace of<br />

mind to hundreds of architects and manufacturers alike.<br />

BBA Agrément Certificates are widely read and respected<br />

by industry decision-makers who want to select innovative<br />

products that have been thoroughly assessed by the BBA.<br />

Our assessors have decades of experience in evaluating<br />

Offsite Construction, and we are currently assessing many<br />

new systems, adding to the many already approved including<br />

insulated concrete formwork, SIPs and framed systems.<br />

Of course, our main focus is on the requirements of Building<br />

Regulations — not just in England and Wales, but also in<br />

Scotland and Northern Ireland. But we go much further than<br />

that. We want to ensure that a system is not only waterproof,<br />

warm and structurally sound; it has to be durable, too. No-one<br />

wants to buy a system with a short life expectancy, so we seek<br />

to ensure that it will last for an appropriate period of time.<br />

Neither are our assessments simply desk exercises.<br />

As well as testing, we go out to the factory to check system<br />

documentation and control, making sure that the specification<br />

we approve is capable of being produced consistently.<br />

We also go out on site to see units being offloaded and<br />

installed. That’s because we know that what may seem simple<br />

when explained in a dry office or factory can turn out to be<br />

very different on a building site.<br />

Once we have gathered data from testing, factory inspections<br />

and site surveillance, we consider how we can use it to establish<br />

that the requirements of Building Regulations and other<br />

statutory or non-statutory documents have been met.<br />

clientservices@bba.star.co.uk | 01923 665300<br />

www.bbacerts.co.uk<br />

14 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

insulatemag<br />

15


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />

All change ahead<br />

for SAP assessments?<br />

Michael Brogden Technical Director at Darren Evans Assessments<br />

The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) offers an indication of a home’s energy<br />

performance and is calculated using Government approved methodology based<br />

on standard usage patterns. Following a recent consultation by the Department of<br />

Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on changes to SAP, Michael Brogden,<br />

Technical Director at Darren Evans Assessments, takes a look at some of the proposals.<br />

Within the document there were 19<br />

proposed amendments to SAP that<br />

would not only bring it more in-line<br />

with how we as home owners interact<br />

with our homes, but also look to close<br />

loopholes within the SAP Assessment<br />

process itself and enable the results<br />

of the SAP Calculation to better reflect<br />

performance.<br />

There were no proposed changes to<br />

the limiting fabric targets or notional<br />

dwelling targets within the new<br />

proposal, for Part L1A or L1B. It had been<br />

proposed that the targets currently<br />

outlined within the 2012 regulations<br />

would remain the same. The SAP 2012<br />

Appendix R outlines the current notional<br />

dwelling values that are outlined within<br />

SAP for new build dwellings.<br />

The limiting fabric values for Part L1B<br />

(domestic change of use or renovation<br />

projects) have not changed or been<br />

updated since 2010. These values were<br />

unchanged when SAP was amended<br />

in 2012.<br />

Old houses, old regulations<br />

When you consider there are nearly 30<br />

million dwellings across the UK and that<br />

approximately 85% of all housing that<br />

will exist in 2050 has already been built,<br />

this highlights the potential impact<br />

that existing buildings have in meeting<br />

the Government’s carbon-reduction<br />

targets. Sadly, nothing has been done<br />

to improve the performance of these<br />

leaky inefficient dwellings beyond the<br />

standards that have been set in 2010.<br />

If there is no change in the next revision<br />

of the regulations, then this performance<br />

gap will continue to increase.<br />

If housing represents 16% of the total<br />

UK CO 2 emissions then would it not be<br />

beneficial to investigate how we can<br />

better reduce the emissions from this<br />

section of the market?<br />

PSI Values<br />

The other amendment within the<br />

consultation document relating to the<br />

fabric focused on the application of<br />

PSI values within the SAP Calculation.<br />

PSI values are a measure of heat<br />

loss through non-repeating junctions<br />

around a building. At present, SAP 2012<br />

Appendix K has a list of approved values<br />

outlined within Table K1.<br />

These approved values are able to be<br />

used within a calculation if a building<br />

follows accredited thermal junction<br />

principles outlined.<br />

The consultation proposes the removal<br />

of Table K1 discontinuing the ability for<br />

calculations to benefit from the use of<br />

these approved values. If these approved<br />

values are no longer used within<br />

calculations, then default or calculated<br />

values will need to be used. This will<br />

represent a higher heat loss through the<br />

fabric of the building. The consultation<br />

is also proposing an increase in the<br />

default Y-Value within SAP. The Y-value<br />

in the SAP is a measure for the heat<br />

loss through the non-repeating thermal<br />

bridging areas of a building in W/m²K,<br />

at present, if the thermal junctions are<br />

not measured then a default Y-Value is<br />

applied to the calculation.<br />

This value currently sits at 0.15, but the<br />

proposal is to increase the value to 0.20.<br />

Currently, in some SAP Calculations<br />

where the measured thermal junctions<br />

give a calculated Y-Value greater than<br />

0.15, the measured value can be ignored<br />

and the better-performing default<br />

whole building Y-Value can be selected.<br />

The consultation is seeking to stop this<br />

process from happening and ensure that<br />

the heat loss of the building is measured<br />

and accurately represented within the<br />

calculation.<br />

The responsibility would then rest<br />

with insulation and building product<br />

manufacturers to calculate the<br />

performance of PSI values through<br />

thermal junctions to ensure that the<br />

heat loss through these parts of the<br />

building is accurately represented<br />

and to ensure that the Target Fabric<br />

Energy Efficiency (TFEE) is achieved.<br />

Without calculated PSI values certain<br />

calculations may struggle to achieve the<br />

TFEE target, placing a greater weight of<br />

further renewable measures to achieve<br />

the Target Emission Rating.<br />

Lighting changes<br />

There are no lighting controls specified<br />

in the SAP Calculation methodology at<br />

present and there are none proposed in<br />

the changes. The consultation outlines<br />

changes to being able to better describe<br />

the lighting that is used, as well as<br />

differentiate properties that use more<br />

energy efficient lighting. Currently<br />

lighting has to be over 45 lumens per<br />

circuit watt to be counted as lowE and<br />

the calculation seeks an input in % as<br />

to how much of the provided lighting<br />

complies with this standard.<br />

This is a section of the SAP Calculation<br />

that needs to be tightened up as there<br />

is little information provided at present<br />

to confirm the lighting used in the<br />

calculation. However, the consultation<br />

could go further and propose a lighting<br />

control data entry field to better<br />

represent not only the lighting used, but<br />

the way in which it is controlled to ensure<br />

lighting is not inappropriately used.<br />

Hot water and heating<br />

There are changes also proposed that<br />

will enable the EPC to better represent<br />

the running costs of the building it<br />

illustrates, as at present the certificate<br />

is a poor description of the running cost<br />

of the buildings they represent. Some of<br />

the ways in which the consultation seeks<br />

to bring about this change is through<br />

hot water methodology and the SAP<br />

heating regime.<br />

Any steps to improve the accuracy of<br />

representing technologies within the SAP<br />

Calculation or to alter the assumptions<br />

within the calculation methodology to<br />

more accurately represent the way in<br />

which we use our homes is a positive<br />

step in the right direction.<br />

The proposed changes to SAP in making<br />

it more accurate are certainly a good<br />

thing because it will more accurately<br />

represent how energy efficient buildings<br />

are. However, the BEIS consultation could<br />

have gone further, particularly with more<br />

of a focus on insulation and fabric. There<br />

should also be more industry regulation<br />

to support the modelling and calculation<br />

of thermal bridges.<br />

16 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

insulatemag<br />

17


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The only independent insulation The only industry independent trade insulation magazineindustry trade magazine<br />

Case study<br />

Appetite for Actis-insulated<br />

shipping container buildings<br />

is growing<br />

South West Steel Buildings, based in Newquay, has been insulating its distinctive units<br />

with two of the three products in the Actis Hybrid range — honeycomb insulation<br />

Hybris and insulating breather membrane Boost ‘R Hybrid — for the past couple of<br />

years because of the impressive thermal efficiency they offer, and the ease and speed<br />

with which they can be installed.<br />

Recent projects have included two 5,000 sq<br />

ft office blocks and 16 self-contained 400<br />

sq ft live work units at Prow Park business<br />

village on the Treloggan Industrial Estate<br />

in Newquay, and a 2,000 sq ft golf club at<br />

Whitsand Bay.<br />

The company is hoping to carry out a<br />

pilot residential project later this year. The<br />

homes, whose wall and roof U-value will<br />

be around 0.17, would be let at a fair rent<br />

or purchased through shared equity or<br />

ownership and would form part of a mixeduse<br />

development of homes, offices, retail<br />

units, community hubs and workshops<br />

to create a varied social environment. If<br />

successful, SWSB hopes this will pave the<br />

way for further projects in Cornwall and<br />

elsewhere in the UK.<br />

“All the local authorities that we have<br />

approached love the concept, and can<br />

really see the potential benefits stemming<br />

from the use of converted containers<br />

as residences,” explained development<br />

manager Brian Curnow.<br />

“We have met with some fantastic support<br />

from both the council and local politicians<br />

alike, but due to the pioneering nature<br />

of what we are doing we have met with<br />

a few stumbling blocks and have been<br />

working through them for a good part of<br />

2016 in order to take our product to market,<br />

hopefully in 2017.”<br />

The venture began a few years ago with<br />

the creation of a mini retail workshop and<br />

office development in Newquay whose<br />

units were available on a monthly rental<br />

basis to help businesses concerned about<br />

a long term commitment during difficult<br />

economic times.<br />

A special technique developed by<br />

the company eliminates technical<br />

issues by moving the dew point – a<br />

problem experienced on the interior of<br />

the conversion in some other similar<br />

constructions – to the outside of<br />

the building.<br />

Brian says the CE marked, NHBC<br />

approved, LABC and LABSS compliant<br />

Actis Hybrid products are very quick and<br />

easy to install and help avoid thermal<br />

bridging as they are flexible and can fit<br />

round corners.<br />

Using breather membrane Boost ‘R<br />

Hybrid massively reduces the risk of<br />

interstitial condensation, guarantees air<br />

tightness and can protect the building<br />

from precipitation and wind driven rain.<br />

Reflective and watertight, yet vapour<br />

permeable, it’s used on the cold side of<br />

roofs and walls. Because water vapour<br />

molecules are smaller than those in<br />

water droplets it lets moisture out but<br />

doesn’t let water in.<br />

Thermal modelling trials carried out<br />

by certification body BM TRADA have<br />

shown that Actis insulated membranes<br />

have a dramatic impact on counteracting<br />

thermal bridging and act as excellent<br />

thermal blankets.<br />

The shipping containers are just one<br />

of a number of off site construction<br />

techniques increasingly choosing Actis<br />

Hybrid projects – with others including<br />

timber frame buildings, park homes<br />

and ecopods.<br />

A Cornish company which<br />

specialises in converting shipping<br />

containers into offices, live-work<br />

units, pop-up restaurants and<br />

even a golf club is aiming to<br />

expand into residential projects<br />

during 2017.<br />

Since then the concept has proved<br />

increasingly popular. The 40ft containers,<br />

which can be configured in a variety<br />

of ways and are strong enough to be<br />

stacked eight high, cost about two thirds<br />

of the price of brick and block or timber<br />

frame equivalents.<br />

A recent competition for builders and merchants highlighted just how speedy<br />

it is to install the honeycomb Hybris panels. Videos of competitors in action<br />

show it really is a doddle (www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy8ZiNLWw-<br />

X3HWwc4T3HNozoRdGs95h-X), and a range of ‘how to’ video guides at<br />

hybrid.insulation-actis.com/how-to-insulate-a-timber-frame-wall-with-hybrisinsulation<br />

give tips on how to install the product.<br />

A free online simulator, at hybrid.insulation-actis.com/simulator enables users to<br />

estimate the U-value of an Actis Hybrid project in seconds.<br />

South West Steel Buildings’ first 5,000 sq ft office block at Prow Park in Newquay - insulated with Actis Hybris and Boost ‘R Hybrid.<br />

www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

18<br />

19


Our Housing Dilemma:<br />

Time To Start Building<br />

Darren Evans Managing Director, Darren Evans Assessments<br />

The scale of our housing problem is immense with a great chasm between demand and<br />

supply, escalating prices across the UK to levels way beyond what a first time buyer<br />

can ever hope to achieve. In a bid to reform the market and boost the supply of new<br />

homes, the Government’s much-awaited housing White Paper, “Fixing Our Broken<br />

Housing Market, was greeted with cautious optimism by some, but is a much needed<br />

step in the right direction.<br />

To put some of the key housebuilding pledges in perspective,<br />

the figure of £1.4 billion allocated to the housing sector will<br />

lead to the construction of 40,000 new affordable homes across<br />

the country, but in terms of the target rate of 250,000 houses<br />

a year, this equates to the same number of houses in Newcastle<br />

and Sunderland put together. Do we have the capability of<br />

building the equivalent of two cities per year?<br />

The government is also committed to ‘bringing a halt to the<br />

decline in housing affordability.’ I don’t believe you can bring<br />

a halt to the affordability issue. All we can do is reduce that<br />

decline as there is no way you can stop a problem overnight<br />

that has been going on for years.<br />

The series of tweaks to planning laws is a good thing. Councils<br />

will be able to cut planning permissions to last just two years<br />

instead of their current three, in what some have termed a ‘useit<br />

or lose it’ threat to developers. What would be even better is<br />

putting a deadline on when a building needs to be completed. A<br />

deadline on the completion of a project will shift the emphasis<br />

from the housing provider to the interests of the potential<br />

homeowner.<br />

There is no mention on the impact of new housing on schools,<br />

hospitals and transportation which leads to the longstanding<br />

‘not in my backyard’ or NIMBY syndrome. What can we do to<br />

educate people to support building new homes? Is it not better<br />

to build on brownfield land or in deprived areas rather than<br />

adding to cities where there are already existing issues with<br />

schools, hospitals and infrastructure?<br />

If you build homes outside of existing cities then these areas<br />

become more affordable. People might have to move 30-50<br />

miles from where they currently are, but they escape the<br />

current housing crisis in that area. It therefore relieves the more<br />

built-up areas and elevates another previously deprived area to<br />

a better place. The place they have left also improves because<br />

there is more space for people.<br />

When it comes to support for local planning authorities, why<br />

has it taken so long to figure out that 40% of local authorities<br />

are reporting inaccurately on their projected growth? Why has<br />

this not been picked up or supported? Surely, this will lead to<br />

the the right homes, in the right places.<br />

With 60% of all properties constructed by only 10 developers,<br />

it’s great they are increasing competition with incentives to<br />

help small builders who are more dynamic and better for the<br />

economy. They recruit locally and their profit margins are not<br />

as aggressive as the largest commercial builders. Their desire to<br />

turn things around is a lot quicker and slicker than the bigger<br />

outfits and they are also better at producing sustainable and<br />

high quality homes.<br />

While it is no silver bullet, the housing White Paper is a good<br />

start and a road to somewhere from which all parties can ‘build<br />

on’. It would however benefit all of us to understand the longer<br />

term vision, not just in terms of the current government, but<br />

with consecutive administrations.<br />

For further information visit<br />

www.darren-evans.co.uk<br />

insulatemag<br />

21


<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

PAS2030:<br />

Important Information<br />

for Insulation Installers<br />

Kingspan Insulation<br />

‘Facades and Fire Safety:<br />

Routes to Compliance’ CPD<br />

Kingspan Insulation is<br />

delighted to offer its free<br />

Royal Institute of British<br />

Architects (RIBA) certified<br />

Continuing Professional<br />

Development (CPD)<br />

exploring the regulatory<br />

requirements for fire<br />

safety when installing<br />

rainscreen and masonry<br />

façades in habitable high<br />

rise buildings above and<br />

below 18 metres.<br />

The ‘Façades and Fire Safety: Routes to Compliance’ CPD discusses the various<br />

ways to comply with the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations<br />

and Standards, and the relative merits of each approach. By the end of the<br />

CPD, it should be clear what factors need to be considered and what is deemed<br />

acceptable by Fire Safety Engineers and Building Control Bodies, as well as<br />

warranty and insurance providers. In addition to providing example case<br />

studies, the presentation also covers legislation and guidance in England,<br />

Wales and Scotland that is pertinent to these projects.<br />

RIBA CPDs provide self-directed, informal learning that ensures architects and<br />

construction professionals have access to a wealth of training material that<br />

is up-to-date and aids career growth. The CPD’s RIBA Approved status means<br />

that it is worth double points for architects seeking to maintain chartered<br />

status and demonstrates Kingspan Insulation’s keen interest in maintaining<br />

high standards, whilst continuing to improve upon current skills and<br />

proficiencies.<br />

As members of the RIBA CPD Providers Network, Kingspan Insulation can also<br />

offer guidance on fire safety when specifying premium performance rigid<br />

phenolic insulation for buildings above 18 metres.<br />

The industry’s largest standalone<br />

event of the year will<br />

be held in Nottingham this<br />

November.<br />

To enter or to book a table for<br />

this prestigious event, visit<br />

www.insulationawards.co.uk<br />

The new PAS2030 was published on 1st February 2017 and<br />

contains significant new, additional requirements and obligations<br />

on insulation installers. Companies carrying out work under the<br />

new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) from 1st April 2017 and<br />

any other Government Schemes will be required to work to the<br />

new requirements and be fully compliant by 1st June 2017.<br />

If insulation installers fail to meet the full requirements of<br />

PAS2030 they will not be able to undertake work, and any work<br />

they do undertake which does not comply under the PAS2030<br />

will be rejected and therefore they will not get paid.<br />

We understand that there is a significant<br />

lack of awareness and understanding<br />

of the new PAS2030 among installers<br />

generally which is of great concern to<br />

us. Therefore the NIA is issuing briefings<br />

and guidance to its members on the<br />

new PAS2030 and what they will need<br />

to do in order to comply. We are also<br />

providing details to specifiers including;<br />

Local Authorities, Housing Associations<br />

and Energy Companies and urging them<br />

to specify the use of NIA members for<br />

added assurance and recourse.<br />

Neil Marshall<br />

Chief Executive of the<br />

National Insulation Association<br />

22 www.insulatemagazine.co.uk<br />

insulatemag<br />

23

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