Insulate Magazine - April Issue 17
A Free Lunch, The language of Insulation, Artificial Intelligence and Insulation, and in-depth review of Ecobuild 2018 feature amongst articles from the BBA, NIA, Kingspan, IMA, Sto and more feature in this months edition
A Free Lunch, The language of Insulation, Artificial Intelligence and Insulation, and in-depth review of Ecobuild 2018 feature amongst articles from the BBA, NIA, Kingspan, IMA, Sto and more feature in this months edition
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The only independent<br />
insulation industry<br />
trade magazine<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>17</strong> | <strong>April</strong> 2018<br />
New forms of insulation<br />
Ecobuild 2018 Review<br />
AI Insulation<br />
Energy Efficiency<br />
Infrastructure Priority
The only independent<br />
insulation industry<br />
trade magazine<br />
The only independent<br />
insulation industry<br />
trade magazine<br />
Insulation<br />
Outlook 2018<br />
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trade magazine<br />
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<strong>Issue</strong> 14 | January 2018<br />
Website: www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
Standing Out From the Crowd<br />
Email: sales@insulatenetwork.com<br />
NIA Conference Review<br />
Keeping Everything Moving<br />
Review, Reflect and Reset<br />
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The only independent<br />
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trade magazine<br />
Outlook 2018<br />
Insulation<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>17</strong> | <strong>April</strong> 2018<br />
New forms of insulation<br />
Ecobuild 2018 Review<br />
Free Lunch....<br />
Energy Efficiency<br />
Infranstructure Priority<br />
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<strong>Issue</strong> 14 | January 2018<br />
Standing Out From the Crowd<br />
NIA Conference Review<br />
Keeping Everything Moving<br />
Standing Out From the Crowd<br />
Review, Reflect and Reset<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 14 | January 2018<br />
NIA Conference Review<br />
Keeping Everything M<br />
Review, Reflec<br />
WWW.INSULATENETWORK.COM NEWS@INSULATENETWORK.COM |
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Contents<br />
It’s been an extremely busy month here at HQ, it seems<br />
that coming into spring has brought the industry into<br />
overdrive, projects and initiatives from across the globe<br />
are being submitted to us as future articles and features for<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> magazine.<br />
New forms of Insulation: Something to Reflect on<br />
Tallest Piece of Street Art<br />
Efficeint Cambridge Virido Development<br />
6<br />
10<br />
12<br />
We’ve had the consultation for ECO3 opened by BEIS in<br />
preparation for it’s implementation, with much discussion<br />
on social media still centring around “deemed scores” - the<br />
team at <strong>Insulate</strong> Network would love to hear your views for a<br />
feature next month, simply send an email to<br />
news@insulatenetwork.com and share your thoughts.<br />
This month we hear from our Technical Editor, Paul Forrester<br />
on “The Language of Insulation” “Continued Professional<br />
Development in Insulation” and a review of the final Ecobuild,<br />
ahead of its transformation to Futurebuild in 2019.<br />
All of your usual <strong>Insulate</strong> Columnists deliver their thoughts for<br />
the industry from the view of their respective trade bodies and<br />
the BBA chart the rise of reflective insulation in the U.K.<br />
Enjoy!<br />
Tests Even Tougher 13<br />
Energy Efficiency is Infrastructure Priority<br />
12<br />
The Language of Insulation 16<br />
Free Lunch 19<br />
Speciers of Insulation Projects 21<br />
Ecobuild is Evolving (Ecobuild Review)<br />
22<br />
Heat or Eat<br />
24<br />
Insulation and Artificial Intelligence<br />
26<br />
Embracing Ecommerce<br />
31<br />
Colin Heath<br />
Managing Editor<br />
colin@insulatenetwork.com<br />
@colin_insulate<br />
26<br />
12<br />
Jamie Street<br />
Head of Creative<br />
jamie@insulatenetwork.com<br />
@jamie_insulate<br />
6 14<br />
Paul Forrester<br />
Technical Editor<br />
Winner!<br />
Congratulations to Tim Potter<br />
from CMS Danksin, who won<br />
the tickets to Anthony Joshua<br />
vs Parker thanks to Mauer in<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> issue 15.<br />
The UK's only dedicated<br />
trade journal for the insulation industry<br />
3
The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
instant insulate<br />
A quick look at what is in store in this months issue of <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />
Head over to page 27 for Embacing Ecommerce in Insulation<br />
Europe is currently developing a<br />
harmonised European Product Standard<br />
for reflective insulation which is due<br />
to be published shortly. Once officially<br />
issued, manufacturers will then be able<br />
to CE-mark their product to encourage<br />
increased sales across Europe.<br />
Read More: Page 6<br />
Under new ownership, ecobuild<br />
2018 represented a confident<br />
transition to what will become<br />
futurebuild in 2019<br />
Ecobuild Review: Page 22<br />
The walls of the Virido properties allow<br />
approximately 20% less heat loss than a<br />
typical building, without having to<br />
compromise on room sizes.<br />
Read More: Page 12<br />
No: insulation is a technical, logical<br />
language, born of the laws of physics.<br />
Read More: Page 16<br />
Energy efficiency measures provide a<br />
public service: they insulate<br />
consumers—literally—against the volatility<br />
of energy markets. Likewise, they provide<br />
health and wellbeing benefits,<br />
Read More: Page 14<br />
There are still millions of households<br />
and commercial and public<br />
buildings that are yet to be properly<br />
insulated and yet insulation is<br />
still the single most effective method<br />
of saving energy and money.<br />
Read More: Page 21<br />
With government-backed delivery of home<br />
energy efficiency improvements stalling,<br />
we inevitably end up playing political football<br />
with the issue whilst the poorest and<br />
most vulnerable in society suffer.<br />
Read More: Page 26<br />
no such thing as a free lunch, but<br />
when a construction product<br />
manufacturer wants to present to an<br />
office full of professionals then<br />
making sure they are well fed is<br />
virtually a prerequisite<br />
Read More: Page 18<br />
For the UK’s Tallest Piece of Street Art Turn to page 10<br />
4<br />
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The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> Insight<br />
New forms of Insulation<br />
Something to Reflect on<br />
Marin Oxley Charts the rise of reflective insulation<br />
A<br />
fter running 26.2 miles and receiving your<br />
well-earned finisher’s medal, you usually<br />
receive a goody bag after completing<br />
your marathon. Along with the T-shirt, snack<br />
bar and muscle-relieving pain gel, you will find<br />
a shiny, highly reflective space blanket. This<br />
helps to keep you warm after you have stopped<br />
running – so why not use the sametechnology<br />
to keep your house warm as well?<br />
Testing the Performance<br />
When the first reflective insulation products hit the<br />
shelves of builder’s merchants many years ago, there<br />
was limited certified testing, so some of their original<br />
performance claims might have been a little optimistic.<br />
Testing houses in both the UK and Europe also<br />
achieved varying results after analysing the products<br />
in the same way as they normally would traditional<br />
insulants.<br />
So while the test houses and manufacturers agreed<br />
on a standard testing methodology for thermal<br />
performance, a process which took a few years,<br />
some companies opted for in-situ evaluation.<br />
It soon became apparent that it was extremely difficult<br />
to build ‘standard houses’ repeatedly and ensure<br />
that thermal performance and weathering conditions<br />
remained absolutely identical, so as to evaluate the<br />
true performance of these new reflective insulants<br />
with 100% accuracy. This caused market confusion<br />
and ultimately led to many architects, specifiers and<br />
contractors not selecting reflective insulation for their<br />
projects.<br />
Thermal Performance Standard<br />
After several rounds of evaluation with some of the<br />
best testing houses for insulation’s thermal performance,<br />
in 2012 Europe agreed on a standard thermal<br />
Europe is currently<br />
developing a harmonised<br />
European Product<br />
Standard for reflective<br />
insulation which is due to<br />
be published shortly. Once officially<br />
issued, manufacturers will then be able<br />
to CE-mark their product to encourage<br />
increased sales across Europe.<br />
performance testing standard, BS EN 16012: 2012<br />
+A1: 2015 Thermal insulation for buildings – Reflective<br />
insulation products – Determination of the declared<br />
thermal performance. (http://bit.ly/2bramb2).<br />
There was now a defined methodology for direct<br />
thermal comparison of reflective insulants. This, together<br />
with the emergence of the first reflective insulation<br />
certificates from the British Board of Agrément<br />
(BBA) over <strong>17</strong> years ago, increased the credibility of<br />
the industry and provided consumers with the reassurance<br />
they required, and sales started to increase<br />
significantly during this period.<br />
Radiation of Heat<br />
All insulation products work by reducing heat flow, in<br />
one or more of three ways: conduction, convection or<br />
radiation. Heat always flows from the hot side to the<br />
cold side.<br />
Reflective insulation’s key feature is, of course, to limit<br />
heat flow by radiation. The radiated energy is invisible<br />
and causes no rise in temperature until it hits a<br />
surface, where it is absorbed and causes the object<br />
to get warmer. For instance, radiative energy from the<br />
sun will pass through double-glazing and once it hits<br />
an object inside the conservatory it starts to heat it<br />
up.<br />
6<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com
When comparing the performance of reflective insulations,<br />
a key technical characteristic is the emittance<br />
of the product, more usually described as emissivity,<br />
specifically a surface measurement of the product’s<br />
ability to emit radiant energy.<br />
Emissivity is a ratio and is given a value between zero<br />
and one. A value of zero indicates that all the energy<br />
is reflected and none is absorbed, as for example,<br />
with a highly polished silver surface. Conversely, a<br />
value of one denotes that none of the energy is reflected<br />
and all is absorbed, as by a totally black body<br />
such as a black hole in space.<br />
For a typical reflective insulation product, the aluminium<br />
foil outer surface would have a declared aged<br />
emissivity of around 0.05, meaning that the significant<br />
majority of energy is not absorbed. Conversely, for a<br />
typical brown house brick, you would usually expect<br />
an emissivity value of around 0.90 – that is, most of<br />
the energy is absorbed.<br />
As emissivity is a ratio of energy, the temperature and<br />
direction of measurement is an important function, so<br />
you need to measure the emissivity accurately. The<br />
texture of the sample can also affect the true result by<br />
scattering the light.<br />
BS EN 16012: 2012 + A1: 2015 refers to BS EN<br />
15976: 2011 Flexible sheets for waterproofing –<br />
Determination of emissivity, which details testing and<br />
reporting methodology (http://bit.ly/2bCJq5p). With<br />
most reflective insulations, you are determining very<br />
low emissivity values and are working at the very<br />
limits of the instrumentation, so using an experienced<br />
independent testing laboratory such as the BBA is<br />
vital to obtain accurate, precise and credible results.<br />
The results supplied should be ‘aged’ results to take<br />
into effect the material’s ability to resist oxidation<br />
/ corrosion, i.e. how the product will perform after<br />
many years as opposed to just initially.<br />
Europe is currently developing a harmonised European<br />
Product Standard for reflective insulation which<br />
is due to be published shortly. Once officially issued,<br />
manufacturers will then be able to CE-mark their<br />
product to encourage increased sales across Europe.<br />
BBA History<br />
The BBA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016,<br />
which means we have been evaluating numerous<br />
insulation types from novel to traditional, in many<br />
different applications for over half a century. Each<br />
certificate has a scope of that the lists.<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
7
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
what the product is, its technical performance, how it<br />
complies with Building Regulations and where it can<br />
be used.<br />
Insulation manufacturers work hard to produce the<br />
best product for each specific application, to ensure<br />
that all the necessary requirements are met. Obviously,<br />
for an insulation the key element is thermal<br />
performance, so the correct installation of any<br />
insulation is absolutely essential. If it is installed poorly<br />
or incorrectly, there will be a loss of thermal performance<br />
and, with the majority of insulation ending up<br />
covered once it is installed, this reduced performance<br />
will continue throughout its life, and may even cause<br />
issues at a later date.<br />
Correct installation of insulation was one of the<br />
many parameters picked up in the Zero Carbon Hub<br />
Performance Gap report as an area to improve (see<br />
Building Control Journal February/March, pp.14–15).<br />
Architects, designers and specifiers are required to<br />
take CPD to keep abreast of developments. However,<br />
an installer may often only attend a one-day<br />
training course and become approved with typically<br />
very little follow-up or auditing, even though he/she<br />
may then be considered the company expert.<br />
So the focus for manufacturers to increase market<br />
share must be in preparing comprehensive technical<br />
literature to complement the sales material, as well<br />
as detailed installation guidance to demonstrate the<br />
ease of fitting all the key features and benefits.<br />
This guidance can range from images of the installation<br />
process right through to on-site training<br />
schemes. Companies are keen to ensure that their<br />
product is installed correctly, does what it should do<br />
and stands the test of time.<br />
So, if reflective insulation uses the standard principles<br />
of physics for thermal performance and has been<br />
around for the past 60 years or so, used as it was<br />
during the great space race of the 1950’s and 60’s,<br />
being both thin and lightweight, then you could ask<br />
the question – why is it not used in more applications?<br />
The lack of a current European Product Standard<br />
may be one of the reasons why architects, specifiers<br />
and contractors continue to use their normal insulant,<br />
given that this has worked in the past and they do<br />
not have time to investigate all the possibilities.<br />
This is where a BBA Certificate gives the manufacturer<br />
the ability to go out into the market place to support<br />
and solve many of the questions that industry<br />
has regarding product performance.<br />
With regulated building requirements for U-values<br />
getting lower and lower, the use of reflective insulation<br />
in conjunction with other traditional insulants can<br />
help achieve these increasingly stringent targets. To<br />
achieve maximum performance, products must be<br />
used in conjunction with an air cavity in front of, and<br />
in some cases behind, the insulation.<br />
Some products are also classed as a vapour control<br />
layer because they offer a high degree of moisture<br />
resistance and, of course, must be used on the warm<br />
side of any proposed system to reduce the risk of<br />
any interstitial condensation. Others are classed as<br />
breathable because they are perforated through all<br />
layers to allow any moisture build-up to pass through<br />
the material and dissipate on the other side, typically<br />
in the form of a ventilated cavity in a warm pitched<br />
roof.<br />
Although it may not have been a smooth or easy<br />
ride to get here, reflective insulation is now definitely<br />
making significant inroads into the European insulant<br />
market.<br />
The BBA’s auditing and inspection team has a huge<br />
wealth of knowledge and experience of the whole<br />
spectrum of on-site insulation installations, from the<br />
very best to the very worst, so it can offer a valuable<br />
resource for those looking to ensure that the product<br />
is installed correctly.<br />
Market Share<br />
8<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com
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Thermal Conductivity: 0.007 W/m 2 K<br />
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Contact us for more information on<br />
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CTF Ultra ® VIP System: Combined thickness<br />
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www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
9
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> News<br />
Sto Helps Bring Tallest<br />
Piece of Street Art Alive in Leeds<br />
A<br />
Wall insulation system supplied by Sto Ltd has helped bring to life a 137ft high mural called<br />
“Athena Rising” in what is considered to be the tallest piece of street art in the UK. The office<br />
development in Leeds has been clad with StoTherm Vario external wall insulation and finished<br />
with StoColor X-black facade paint.<br />
Created by articles Cbloxx and<br />
AYLO (Joy Gilleard and Hayley<br />
Garner from the Nomad Clan<br />
Muralists Collective) the artwork<br />
depicts an owl in flight alongside<br />
a moon and a crown. The artwork<br />
took four weeks to complete and<br />
covers the east elevation of the<br />
building. To complete the ‘Athena<br />
Rising” street art Joy and Hayley<br />
were required to suspend from a<br />
cradle, hand-painting the artwork<br />
using emulsion and spray paint.<br />
Sto’s Account Manager, Jim<br />
Allan said:<br />
“This project is an excellent<br />
example of the way that Sto can<br />
provide a fully integrated solution<br />
for an unusual project such as<br />
this.”<br />
“StoTherm Vario is a high performance<br />
and cost-effective<br />
insulation system which features<br />
a mineralic reinforcing coat which<br />
is designed to meet stringent fire<br />
safety requirements. It provides<br />
excellent thermal performance<br />
and protects the external wall<br />
from weathering. No additional<br />
expansion joints are required and<br />
this was an important feature for<br />
the Platform building, as it gave<br />
Joy and Hayley a smooth canvas<br />
on which to work.”<br />
Dark finishes on render applied<br />
over external wall insulation have<br />
traditionally suffered from heat<br />
build-up due to solar gain. This<br />
can subject the render and insulation<br />
to temperatures of up to<br />
80°C, which causes dimensional<br />
instability, cracking and damage<br />
to the insulation.<br />
However, the StoColor X-black<br />
paint uses special near-infrared<br />
black pigments that cause much<br />
of the solar energy in the invisible<br />
near-infrared spectrum to be<br />
reflected. Despite the render surface<br />
being dark in colour, it stays<br />
considerably cooler, protecting<br />
both the render itself and the<br />
insulation material beneath it from<br />
the extremes of thermal stress.<br />
The Nomad Clan’s work is part of<br />
the city-wide street art project in<br />
Leeds, called ‘A City Less Grey’.<br />
Joy and Hayley are experienced<br />
giant muralists, having painted<br />
some of the largest artworks in<br />
the North of England, and they<br />
have been called ‘one of street<br />
art’s finest female duos.’<br />
Craig Burrow of the building’s<br />
owner, Bruntwood said:<br />
“We’re very excited to be part<br />
of this project and pleased that<br />
Platform can provide the canvas<br />
for this mural,.”<br />
“Bruntwood firmly believes that<br />
the strength of our cities is directly<br />
impacted by social and cultural<br />
vibrancy, so it’s great to see citywide<br />
projects like ‘A City Less<br />
Grey’ bringing organisations from<br />
across the region together to<br />
create powerful art.<br />
“Bruntwood firmly believes that<br />
the strength of our cities is directly<br />
impacted by social and cultural<br />
vibrancy, so it’s great to see citywide<br />
projects like ‘A City Less<br />
Grey’ bringing organisations from<br />
across the region together to<br />
create powerful art.”<br />
10<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com
With Vario ® XtraSafe<br />
preventing moisture<br />
build-up, the outlook<br />
couldn’t be better<br />
Vario® XtraSafe is the next generation of<br />
‘smart’ vapour barrier, delivering<br />
airtightness alongside active moisture<br />
management. Helping you protect<br />
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Building Regulations.*<br />
Find out more and request your<br />
free sample at isover.co.uk/vario<br />
*Part L 1 A of the Building Regulations (England & Wales) and Section 6 (Scotland)
<strong>Insulate</strong> News<br />
Kingspan Tek Insulation<br />
Underpins Efficient Cambridge Virido Development<br />
irido, the new high energy efficiency housing development in Cambridge features Kingspan’s TEK<br />
V Building System of Structural <strong>Insulate</strong>d Panels (SIPs).<br />
Located in the rural suburbs of the University City,<br />
Virido was developed and constructed by Hill. The<br />
development features 208 apartments and townhouses<br />
in a grid of quads around a central courtyard.<br />
A high performance fabric specification, was achievable<br />
thanks to the Kingspan TEK Building System and<br />
was designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards.<br />
The Kingspan TEK Building System comprises a<br />
high-performance insulation core sandwiched between<br />
two layers of OSB/3. The lightweight panels<br />
were designed and factory cut to the project’s unique<br />
requirements by Kingspan Timber Solutions. This ensured<br />
a fast-track erection programme with minimal<br />
onsite adjustments and waste.<br />
To maximise the energy performance of the dwellings,<br />
the envelopes of all properties on the development<br />
have been designed to be extremely airtight.<br />
This was a key consideration in the specification of<br />
the Kingspan TEK Building System as its unique jointing<br />
system and OSB/3 facing supports highly airtight<br />
constructions. On completion, each property was<br />
individually assessed and achieved recorded air leakage<br />
rates of below 1.5 air change per hour @ 50 pa.<br />
The highly airtight design necessitated the use of mechanical<br />
ventilation heat recovery systems (MVHR).<br />
These systems use the heat from the outgoing stale<br />
air to heat incoming fresh air, further reducing heating<br />
demand and maintaining comfortable internal living<br />
conditions.<br />
The Kingspan TEK Building System also<br />
contributed towards the excellent fabric performance<br />
of the properties as Heike Messler from Pollard<br />
Thomas Edwards explained:<br />
“The walls of the Virido properties allow approximately<br />
20% less heat loss than a typical building, without<br />
having to compromise on room sizes. This high level<br />
of thermal performance means that the homes don’t<br />
really need radiators, but we have included them for<br />
personal comfort.”<br />
Both the Kingspan TEK Cladding Panel and Kingspan<br />
TEK Building System panels are also available<br />
in a <strong>17</strong>2 mm thickness, offering enhanced insulation<br />
performance with U-values of 0.<strong>17</strong> W/m2.K or better.<br />
The manufacturing facility where the panels are<br />
produced carries both FSC® (FSC®-C109304) and<br />
PEFC Chain of Custody certification. As standard,<br />
the OSB/3 facing of all Kingspan TEK panels is PEFC<br />
certified.<br />
12
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BBA Tests Even Tougher<br />
with Heavyweight Instron Testing Machine<br />
OTest experts at the British Board of<br />
Agrément (BBA) are making full use of<br />
their new Instron universal testing machine<br />
to pull, squeeze, twist, bend and tension<br />
building products under assessment, including<br />
those for the roofing, cladding, highways/car<br />
parking, house-building and civil engineering<br />
industries.<br />
The new load frame equipment is an upgrade to the<br />
BBA’s previous machine, offering an additional test<br />
space, a widened scope of products to be tested<br />
thanks to an increased load capacity from 100kN to<br />
250kN, greater levels of accuracy and stability and<br />
the latest Bluehill Universal software.<br />
Mike Beale, BBA Test Contracts Manager, said:<br />
“The new Instron machine can test more<br />
than 30 product types, from insulation to<br />
membranes, resins, moulded plastics including<br />
pipes and window frames to waterproofing<br />
systems. It’s a crucial piece of<br />
equipment that is in virtually constant use<br />
tensioning, flexing, compressing, peeling<br />
and shearing products. It is a great asset<br />
that is perfect for supporting our clients’<br />
needs. We will continue to invest in new<br />
test fixtures to maximize the possibilities<br />
of this state-of-the-art equipment.”<br />
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13
<strong>Insulate</strong> insulate Columnist columnist<br />
EE as Infrastructure Priority<br />
Secures Cross Party Consensus<br />
Sarah Kostense-Winterton Executive Director, MIMA<br />
“It is all very well giving assistance with bills,<br />
but a long-term solution - insulating houses<br />
- is surely the way forward” said Conservative<br />
sponsoring MP and EEIG supporter,<br />
Antoinette Sandbach opening the recent debate<br />
in Parliament on Energy Efficiency and the Clean<br />
Growth Strategy.<br />
Sandbach continued by setting out a range of potential<br />
policy levers, and highlighting that bills are £500<br />
lower today than they would have been without energy<br />
efficiency improvements, yet “there is still more to do”.<br />
She did not fail to point out that there has been an 80<br />
per cent reduction in energy efficiency improvement<br />
measures between 2012 and 2015. Never a truer<br />
word spoken.<br />
This two and a half hour debate was a long time in<br />
the waiting – with debates on energy efficiency being<br />
few and far between - also providing the first actual<br />
chance to debate the Clean Growth Strategy launched<br />
in October last year. This was a valuable opportunity to<br />
put on the public record the cross-party commitment<br />
to coordinated action on boosting the energy<br />
efficiency of our homes to deliver social, economic and<br />
environment opportunities for all.<br />
The policy wish list – the cross-party MP’s central ask<br />
“to designate energy efficiency measures as<br />
infrastructure spending” – with the clear economic and<br />
social benefits, not surprisingly reflected the EEIG’s<br />
messages, with all of those speaking at the debate<br />
supportive of the coalition’s campaign. As Sandbach<br />
stated energy efficiency spending is closer to capital<br />
than revenue<br />
Sarah Kostense-Winterton is Executive Director<br />
of MIMA, the Mineral Wool Insulation<br />
Manufacturers Association and founder of the<br />
Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group.<br />
For further details of the EEIG and if you would<br />
like to join, please contact EEIG’s political<br />
advocacy and support, Alasdair MacEwen at<br />
alasdair@theeeig.co.uk<br />
expenditure, and such investments free-up energy<br />
capacity, delivering multiple economic, environmental,<br />
and energy security benefits for the UK.<br />
“Why invest in the big plant if we can roll out energy<br />
efficiency measures across the country, as part of<br />
an infrastructure project?” Sandbach boldly proclaimed.<br />
“Energy efficiency measures provide a public<br />
service: they insulate consumers—literally—against<br />
the volatility of energy markets. Likewise, they provide<br />
health and wellbeing benefits, by enabling consumers<br />
to heat buildings more effectively, and they have<br />
the knock-on consequences of reducing our carbon<br />
emissions and contributing towards our overall aim of<br />
clean, green growth.”<br />
Minister, Claire Perry did not disappoint with her enthusiastic<br />
response saying, “the case that was made<br />
for demand-side as well as supply-side infrastructure<br />
investments is powerful” also committing to meet with<br />
the National Infrastructure Commission in the<br />
coming months.<br />
14<br />
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The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
“There is a huge amount more to do,” inferred Perry.<br />
“We have heard lots of sensible ideas today, many<br />
of which are extremely attractive and that we want to<br />
take away. All of us want to get the costs and consumption<br />
of energy down, reduce carbon emissions,<br />
make our homes warmer, and make the transition to<br />
low-carbon energy less risky. This is not an either/<br />
or question; in order to meet our carbon targets, and<br />
to create a housing stock that is fit for the future, we<br />
absolutely need to do this.”<br />
However, the Minister’s one word of caution that making<br />
energy efficiency an infrastructure priority “does<br />
not automatically turn on a new funding tap” must be<br />
ignored at our peril.<br />
“There is no packet of money under the Chancellor’s<br />
desk marked ‘Infrastructure’, so this all has to be put<br />
through a similar hopper,” Perry warned.<br />
“Nevertheless, the point about energy efficiency is excellent;<br />
energy efficiency is not only a strategic imperative,<br />
but an economic imperative. If we improve energy<br />
efficiency, we reduce people’s bills, create value, and<br />
create opportunities and investment for new forms of<br />
technology.”<br />
What was clear during this debate – or dare I say discussion<br />
given the MPs support across the political divide<br />
- is that the politicians agree with one another and<br />
there is immense (and very welcome) support from the<br />
government minister too. We have challenges ahead<br />
but the Clean Growth Strategy represents one of the<br />
most significant milestones – the path ahead – to support<br />
the reset and transformation of energy efficiency<br />
policy, of how it is approached. This, supported by<br />
the recommendations, amongst others, of this week’s<br />
Green Finance Taskforce report, the Climate Change<br />
Committee and, with fingers firmly crossed, of the National<br />
Infrastructure Commission’s recommendations<br />
due in the spring/early summer.<br />
It is imperative that EEIG and its members focus on<br />
supporting Perry and the Government on how to<br />
deliver the jigsaw of potential policy measures and to<br />
ensure HM Treasury becomes sold on the new way<br />
of framing energy efficiency. The momentum we have<br />
achieved throughout 20<strong>17</strong> must be maintained lest we<br />
let this important issue slip back into the traffic jam of<br />
the new policy queue. As Perry rightly said<br />
“This is not an either/or question; in order to meet our<br />
carbon targets, and to create a housing stock that is<br />
fit for the future, we absolutely need to do this.”<br />
With this in mind, the EEIG has a packed strategy for<br />
2018 with focus on doing exactly this. The EEIG remains<br />
a broad church which represents those who are<br />
committed to achieving change and delivering good<br />
energy efficiency policy and quality housing “fit for the<br />
future”. We are not about specific products, businesses<br />
or organisations but committed to<br />
achieving the EEIG’s goals. We are widening and<br />
growing the membership so come and join us at the<br />
next meeting on 11 <strong>April</strong>!<br />
15
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Exclusive <strong>Insulate</strong> Column<br />
The Language of<br />
Insulation<br />
Paul Forrester Technical Editor, <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
The ‘language of insulation’ is not what you<br />
would call romantic. It’s unlikely to inspire<br />
a book of sonnets any time soon; budding<br />
Blakes, Chaucers and Shakespeares tend<br />
to have weightier things on their minds! by Paul<br />
Forrester<br />
No: insulation is a technical, logical language, born<br />
of the laws of physics. Much of it is black and white,<br />
but there remains room for nuance. Used well, it is a<br />
powerful tool for communicating ideas about building<br />
design and performance. The words themselves may<br />
not be beautiful, but they can help create great spaces<br />
that inspire great work from the people who use them.<br />
Thermal Properties<br />
A fundamental measure of a thermal insulation material<br />
is its thermal conductivity (lambda value, units: W/<br />
mK), the amount of heat energy it conducts. Generally,<br />
thermal conductivity doesn’t change with thickness,<br />
so thermal resistance (R-value, units: m2K/W) is<br />
a more accurate measure of a material’s ability, at a<br />
specific thickness, to resist heat transfer.<br />
The resistances of the materials in a wall or roof are<br />
combined with internal and external surface resistances,<br />
then the reciprocal taken, to give the thermal<br />
transmittance (U-value, units: W/m2K) of the<br />
element. Additional calculation procedures apply to<br />
floors, basements and steel framed structures.<br />
Conduction through materials is one mechanism<br />
for heat transfer; another, via the movement of air, is<br />
convection. The third principle mechanism occurs<br />
due to bodies emitting and absorbing electromagnetic<br />
radiation at different rates, depending on temperature<br />
and emissivity.<br />
Installation<br />
Thermal insulation is most effective when installed<br />
as a continuous layer, forming a thermal envelope.<br />
Interruptions to the insulation layer are<br />
thermal bridges (or cold bridges), and should be<br />
avoided as far as possible. They can be the result of<br />
structural requirements, poor design, or poor<br />
installation.<br />
Thermal bridges can be repeating, occurring at<br />
consistent intervals (like timber rafters, a structural<br />
frame, or mechanical fixings), or linear, where the<br />
geometry of a construction element changes or at the<br />
junction between elements (the floor/wall junction, the<br />
wall/roof junction, or around door and window openings).<br />
Gaps in insulation layers can result in warm and cold<br />
air mixing, and circulating around the insulation layer.<br />
This is one type of thermal bypass, a collective term<br />
for different types of air movement (also including air<br />
infiltration and wind washing) that result in significantly<br />
increased heat loss.<br />
Taking a fabric first approach to construction centres<br />
on reducing heating demand and energy use through<br />
efficient building fabric (i.e. insulation and well-detailed<br />
thermal bridges) and passive heating techniques.<br />
Maximising solar gains through good design maintains<br />
comfort in winter, with solar shading to limit the<br />
risk of summer overheating.<br />
Condensation Risk<br />
A fabric first approach also relies on airtightness, to<br />
stop warm air leaking from the building, and controlled<br />
ventilation, to make sure occupants have<br />
fresh air to breathe. Design for low energy construction<br />
typically features a continuous airtightness line<br />
within the thermal envelope; the level of airtightness<br />
dictates the ventilation measures that should be<br />
installed.<br />
16 16<br />
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Air holds moisture vapour. The warmer the air, the<br />
more moisture vapour it can hold. When air comes into<br />
contact with colder surfaces it drops in temperature.<br />
The temperature at which the air is saturated by its current<br />
moisture load (100% RH) is the dew point; when<br />
the air drops below the dew point it can no longer hold<br />
the excess moisture vapour and deposits it as<br />
condensation.<br />
Surface condensation occurs on surfaces that are<br />
colder than the surrounding construction, such as windows<br />
or badly detailed thermal bridges, while<br />
interstitial condensation typically occurs unseen within<br />
the layers of a construction.<br />
In terms of general moisture management, materials<br />
should be selected appropriately. Closed cell products<br />
absorb limited quantities of moisture and do not<br />
allow the passage of moisture vapour, unlike vapour<br />
permeable materials. Older buildings, especially with<br />
solid walls, often rely on moisture transport through<br />
the building fabric, so any retrofit measures must be<br />
sympathetic.<br />
Acoustics and more<br />
As well as thermal insulation, fibrous materials also<br />
provide sound insulation. They can reduce airborne<br />
sound or act as a resilient layer to deaden vibrations.<br />
At their heaviest, they can add mass to a building and<br />
reduce impact sound, including deadening rain noise<br />
on a roof.<br />
Other performance characteristics influence a material’s<br />
suitability for certain applications. Compressive<br />
strength is the ability to bear imposed loads; some<br />
products also declare compressive creep to demonstrate<br />
their behaviour under load for an extended period.<br />
Specific heat capacity is used to calculate the<br />
contribution to an element’s thermal mass. Thermal<br />
insulation products resist the transfer of heat rather than<br />
storing it, so effective use of thermal mass - also part of<br />
a fabric<br />
No: insulation is a technical,<br />
logical language, born of the laws of<br />
physics. Much of it is black and white,<br />
but there remains room for nuance. Used<br />
well, it is a powerful tool for communicating<br />
ideas about building design and<br />
performance.<br />
first approach - depends on the types of structures into<br />
which the insulation is installed.<br />
The introduction of Construction Product Regulations,<br />
including requiring products to be CE marked to<br />
harmonised European standards, has raised quality<br />
and improved the consistency of insulation products.<br />
An overview like this can never exhaustively cover ‘the<br />
language of insulation’ but we hope it has proved a<br />
useful summary of insulation properties and some of<br />
the issues associated with its use. Did we miss anything<br />
from the topics covered? Are there other insulation-related<br />
topics we could do a follow-up on? Get in touch<br />
and let us know!<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
<strong>17</strong><br />
<strong>17</strong>
@INSULATENETWORK<br />
WWW.INSULATENETWORK.COM<br />
insulate network puts<br />
you in touch via every device<br />
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insulatenetwork
The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
Exclusive <strong>Insulate</strong> Column<br />
There is no such thing as a<br />
Free Lunch<br />
Paul Forrester Technical Editor, <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but when a construction product manufacturer wants to<br />
present to an office full of professionals then making sure they are well fed is virtually a<br />
prerequisite. It’s a well established system designed to suit both parties - but is it meeting the<br />
needs of either? by Paul Forrester<br />
Most professional institutes in the construction<br />
industry require members to undertake continuing<br />
professional development (CPD).<br />
Recognising that any qualification, no matter how<br />
prestigious, becomes outdated in a shifting landscape<br />
of legislation changes and ‘innovative’ product<br />
development, the theory behind CPD is to keep<br />
knowledge relevant and up to date, readying professionals<br />
to face new challenges. Different institutes<br />
guide members in different ways with regard to how<br />
they should meet their CPD needs.<br />
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), for example,<br />
has a ‘core curriculum’, from which a certain<br />
number of members’ CPD hours should come each<br />
year. Others give complete freedom, allowing each<br />
professional to personalise their learning in accordance<br />
with their individual requirements.<br />
Structured Learning<br />
With the rise of different platforms for delivering information,<br />
so the number of ways it is possible to undertake<br />
CPD has increased. Podcasts and online learning<br />
are just as valid as traditional books and magazines;<br />
delivering training to colleagues or mentoring students<br />
are legitimate development activities too.<br />
Construction product manufacturers - insulation<br />
producers among them - have long been happy to<br />
support the provision of education. The key is that a<br />
chosen activity should be planned, and of a level appropriate<br />
to supporting the identified learning needs.<br />
If a manufacturer is prepared to offer it, the recipient<br />
is prepared to travel, and the content has been approved,<br />
even a factory tour is a possibility.<br />
Presentations remain the favoured option, however,<br />
and a CPD coordinator may book a manufacturer to<br />
attend their office because the topic of a presentation<br />
is useful to the aims of the organisation as a whole.<br />
But that doesn’t stop some people from attending<br />
purely out of convenience, or to boost their CPD hours<br />
for the current year.<br />
In a similar vein, while CPD material is expected to not<br />
be overtly promotional - and is assessed accordingly<br />
in order to be included in some CPD provider directories<br />
- it rarely takes a huge logical leap to get from the<br />
general topic of a seminar to a particular product the<br />
manufacturer is keen to promote.<br />
Mixed Feelings<br />
As a result, it’s not uncommon to come across conflicting<br />
evidence about the success of in-office lunchtime<br />
CPD seminars. Feedback forms give recipients<br />
the chance to express their opinions. A presentation<br />
might be judged as unbiased by the majority, but one<br />
or two will always feel it could have been less promotional.<br />
Where 90% or more of responses are favourable<br />
though, and where a majority of attendees<br />
suggest a willingness to specify a company’s products<br />
in future, the actual rate of conversion into<br />
specifications can be surprisingly - and disappointingly<br />
- low.<br />
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19
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From the other side, I’ve heard comments from new<br />
and experienced presenters expressing surprise that<br />
an audience was less engaged, or had a lower level<br />
of base knowledge on the subject, than they expected.<br />
From personal experience, I’ve been willing<br />
to discuss live projects in relation to a presentation’s<br />
topics - and had nobody take up the offer.<br />
Never having been a full-time CPD presenter, I<br />
recognise isolated examples aren’t necessarily<br />
representative of a majority of audiences. Anecdotal<br />
as all this evidence may be, however, it can’t help but<br />
raise questions - not least whether conventional CPD<br />
seminars are delivering their intended benefit to<br />
specifier or manufacturer.<br />
they might have. If presentation slots fail to fill generous<br />
seating areas reserved for them, where’s the<br />
harm in experimenting with more exclusive sessions,<br />
held away from the noise and distraction of the main<br />
hall?<br />
An often-overlooked aspect of CPD is reflection.<br />
Professionals are expected to consider whether an<br />
item of CPD met their needs, and adjust their other<br />
planned activities in response. Whether they do or<br />
not is a matter for debate, but consider this: manufacturers<br />
like describing themselves as innovative,<br />
and show organisers want their event to be the most<br />
important of its kind. So shouldn’t there be reflection<br />
on their parts too, about why they keep doing the<br />
same things?<br />
A New Approach<br />
Is it time for trade shows and exhibitions to work<br />
with manufacturers to develop alternative formats?<br />
Classroom or workshop arrangements could offer a<br />
greater level of freedom and interaction, delivering a<br />
higher quality experience, of greater value, that might<br />
even generate increased interest from the intended<br />
target audience.<br />
Better to address questions the audience on the day<br />
actually have, rather than ones assumed in advance<br />
20<br />
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www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> Columnist<br />
Support Available<br />
To Specifiers of Insulation Projects<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> columnist Neil Marshall, Chief Executive of the National Insulation Association<br />
T<br />
here are still millions of households and<br />
commercial and public buildings that are<br />
yet to be properly insulated and yet<br />
insulation is still the single most effective<br />
method of saving energy and money. For<br />
example a detached home fitted with Solid Wall<br />
Insulation could save just over £400 per year.<br />
The National Insulation Association and its members<br />
offer a comprehensive range of services to specifiers<br />
looking for support in the design and delivery of their<br />
upcoming refurbishment and new build projects on<br />
domestic, commercial and public sector buildings<br />
and these include:<br />
• Information, advice and guidance on funding<br />
opportunities.<br />
• Assistance with the design, specification and delivery<br />
of multi property, multi measure upgrades.<br />
• Access to a national network of accredited<br />
installers that meet the NIA’s strict membership<br />
criteria and sign up to its code of professional<br />
practice. Provides specifiers and project managers<br />
with assurance and peace of mind when<br />
choosing an NIA member.<br />
• Issuing expressions of interest and requests to<br />
tender for work on behalf of specifiers to NIA<br />
members.<br />
• An online member directory www.nia-uk.org<br />
NIA registered members have significant experience<br />
of working with energy suppliers, private and social<br />
housing managers, funders, builders, architects and<br />
other specifiers in delivering high quality energy efficiency<br />
schemes. The NIA’s membership includes the<br />
leading manufacturers/system suppliers and installers<br />
of all insulation measures so it’s able to offer a one<br />
stop shop.<br />
For more information about all the work above<br />
and membership of the NIA please email<br />
neil.marshall@nia-uk.org<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
21
22<br />
22<br />
Ecobuild is Evolving<br />
Paul Forrester Technical Editor, <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
Under new ownership, ecobuild 2018 represented a confident transition to what will become<br />
futurebuild in 2019. By giving more of the construction industry space to shine, it not only<br />
showcased how buildings are built now but the methods and materials we can expect to see<br />
in coming months and years by Paul Forrester<br />
With several full scale houses on display around<br />
the exhibition hall, the effect of ecobuild highlighting<br />
more system-based approaches to construction was<br />
arguably to dilute the impact of traditional product<br />
manufacturing. Enough manufacturers - including from<br />
the insulation sector - were present with impressive,<br />
inviting stands, but the mix across the show was noticeably<br />
different.<br />
Insulation will always be an integral part of<br />
construction projects as occupant comfort, energy<br />
use and emissions targets remain high on the agenda.<br />
Overall, however, representation from the sector was<br />
lower key than in previous years - due, perhaps, to<br />
both ecobuild’s change in focus, and challenges faced<br />
by the sector throughout 20<strong>17</strong>.<br />
Who was there?<br />
Insulation companies were, unsurprisingly, to be found<br />
in the Building Performance hub. Bauder had a large<br />
presence, but concentrated on their complete roof<br />
systems; as such they were in the Green & Blue Infrastructure<br />
hub.<br />
Rockwool’s stand featured their complete product<br />
range, as well as interesting case studies to catch<br />
the eye and a display about the distinction between<br />
non-combustibility and Class 0 to help answer fire<br />
performance questions.<br />
Kingspan promoted their phenolic and polyisocyanurate<br />
(PIR) rigid foam products, and their ‘Insight’<br />
educational platform. Meanwhile, Recticel introduced<br />
a new PIR range featuring a thermal conductivity of<br />
0.019 W/mK, alongside their more established offerings.<br />
Both Kingspan and Recticel included a vacuum<br />
insulated panel (VIP) on their stands, while Radmat<br />
focused on the thermal performance benefits and<br />
insulation thickness savings of VIPs. For now, these<br />
products continue to be offered predominantly for flat<br />
roofs, but in coming years it will be interesting to see<br />
how widely their use extends as the market develops<br />
its confidence using them.<br />
Insulation Further Afield<br />
Many of ecobuild’s international trade pavilions<br />
included companies offering insulation products.<br />
Unfortunately, the level of detail available was variable<br />
and it was rarely clear whether products were available<br />
from a UK distributor to be able to specify.<br />
A mineral wool product from Portugal, for example,<br />
proudly claimed to be derived from sand thanks to<br />
an unspecified “innovative process”. There were no<br />
performance claims, but if nothing else it showed the<br />
potential even for traditional insulation materials to<br />
surprise.
Meanwhile, a Polish manufacturer<br />
displayed an insulation board<br />
made from cellulose - a material<br />
more<br />
commonly used in blown applications<br />
- which they marketed as<br />
ideal for the sympathetic internal<br />
upgrade of historic buildings.<br />
Offsite Takes Off?<br />
Back in issue 15 of <strong>Insulate</strong> we<br />
took a look at offsite manufacturing<br />
(OSM) and it was certainly<br />
out in force at ecobuild. Did the<br />
refreshed thinking behind the<br />
show encourage more offsite<br />
companies to attend, or has the<br />
sector simply come of age and<br />
ecobuild was the perfect place to<br />
show it?<br />
Perhaps it was a combination of<br />
both, but either way the Offsite<br />
hub was a buoyant place to be.<br />
In a show with a well-attended<br />
seminar programme, the offsite<br />
talks and discussions seemed<br />
particularly popular.<br />
Among the many modular<br />
building systems and wholehouse<br />
concepts, Marley were<br />
prominent in launching their own<br />
version of a structural insulated<br />
panel system (SIPS) featuring a<br />
PIR foam sandwiched between<br />
two layers of oriented strand<br />
board (OSB). Most notably,<br />
perhaps, the foam was green in<br />
colour!<br />
Passivhaus Prominence<br />
Unfortunately, the floor space<br />
earmarked for the Building<br />
Research in Architecture group’s<br />
Passive Pod House did not feature<br />
what was advertised.<br />
It is pretty hard to miss a complete<br />
house, so unfortunately it<br />
seems the concept did not reach<br />
the show - but if it had been<br />
there I would have enjoyed seeing<br />
an example of their demountable<br />
Passivhaus-standard home,<br />
fabricated off site using just five<br />
main components.<br />
The UK’s Passivhaus Trust were<br />
in attendance, and enough build<br />
systems advertised Passivhaus<br />
levels of performance to suggest<br />
that awareness of the standard<br />
- and highly efficient building<br />
fabric generally - is growing. One<br />
system offered by a group of<br />
Polish companies took a novel<br />
approach, offering performance<br />
levels from ‘basic’ to ‘sub-arctic’.<br />
Education<br />
The plethora of housing solutions<br />
going beyond building<br />
regulations and advocating<br />
future-proofed building fabric<br />
was encouraging. A number of<br />
stands, however, risked undermining<br />
the trend thanks to confusing<br />
displays and terminology.<br />
Several mixed up thermal conductivity<br />
(W/mK) and U-values<br />
(W/m2K), making it difficult for<br />
a trained eye to discern what<br />
performance was actually being<br />
claimed. It almost certainly made<br />
life hard for anyone who was<br />
less familiar with the terminology<br />
but interested in doing the right<br />
thing.<br />
Large student groups remained<br />
a noticeable part of ecobuild’s<br />
visitors, and it is particularly<br />
worrying to think they’re being<br />
exposed to inaccurate and<br />
potentially misleading messaging<br />
at what is supposed to be one<br />
of the major exhibitions of the<br />
construction industry’s year.<br />
insulate at ecobuild<br />
For our part, <strong>Insulate</strong> was<br />
pleased to have a stand in the<br />
Building Performance hub. We<br />
spent the show’s three days<br />
distributing free copies of the<br />
magazine and providing a<br />
showcase for Mauer UK’s<br />
external wall insulation (EWI)<br />
system, featured in last month’s<br />
issue, which deservedly proved<br />
popular with visitors.<br />
23<br />
23<br />
23<br />
23
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> Columnist<br />
Heat or Eat<br />
the Need to Tackle Fuel Poverty Crisis<br />
Simon Storer, Chief Executive of Insulation Manufacturers Association (IMA)<br />
With the ‘Beast from the East’ striking three times in succession this month and the threat<br />
of Storm Toby over Easter, this March has certainly been one of the coldest I can recall for<br />
a long time. This of course means that people need to heat their homes for longer periods<br />
than they would normally and for those on low incomes and those living in fuel poverty this can<br />
sometimes mean making difficult choices about whether to heat or eat.<br />
The consequences of fuel poverty are well-documented<br />
and include discomfort, ill health, mental illness and<br />
debt. Fuel poverty is also linked to increased winter<br />
mortality with a rise in winter deaths associated with<br />
cold homes. Such is the problem that according to a<br />
study by the Association for the Conversation of Energy<br />
(ACE), living in a cold home kills more people than<br />
road accidents, alcohol or drug abuse.<br />
But it is not just the vulnerable, frail, and elderly who<br />
become a statistic. A cold home can mean lower<br />
educational attainment and lead to social exclusion<br />
for young children. There are also links to rising costs<br />
within the NHS in the fight to treat conditions worsened<br />
by insufficiently heated homes, particularly heart<br />
and respiratory diseases.<br />
We all know that energy efficiency improvements<br />
should play their part in helping those in fuel poverty<br />
to keep up with rising energy costs, but with government-backed<br />
delivery of home energy efficiency<br />
improvements stalling, we inevitably end up playing<br />
political football with the issue whilst the poorest and<br />
most vulnerable in society suffer.<br />
The government’s 2015 Fuel Poverty Strategy, which<br />
introduced a statutory target to ensure that as many<br />
fuel poor homes as practically possible achieve a<br />
minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030,<br />
will only be reached if we can upscale installation of<br />
high performance thermal insulation, to the nation’s<br />
housing stock. In short, we have to agree the process,<br />
ensure that the work has been carried out to a decent<br />
standard and is value for money. This is the real challenge<br />
we face.<br />
Firstly, is the need to provide an accurate upfront<br />
assessment of the existing building by a competent<br />
assessor, who can then interpret the findings and prescribe<br />
appropriate energy improvement measures.<br />
There will be various measures required to refurbish<br />
a building, but to ensure the right result is achieved<br />
there has to be coordination between all retrofit activities.<br />
Getting the fabric of the building well insulated<br />
should always be the starting point.<br />
With examples of poor practice in retrofit on the<br />
increase, it is important that a comprehensive set of<br />
standards: the assessment, installation and<br />
commissioning, are all carried out correctly; and the<br />
consumer has a retrofit that works. Professional<br />
co-ordination coupled with consumer motivation,<br />
will deliver a successful retrofit and this is one of the<br />
key objectives of the Each Home Counts 1 review<br />
which recommends that there be a quality mark for<br />
all energy efficiency and renewable energy measures<br />
to ensure that the consumer receives excellent<br />
levels of consumer protection, companies adhere to<br />
a strict code of conduct when operating in the energy<br />
efficiency arena and that products are installed to<br />
approved codes of practice.<br />
24<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com
Retrofitting insulation works for a whole host<br />
of reasons from saving money to reducing carbon<br />
and being good for our health. Whether<br />
it is an internal or external insulation application,<br />
it is vitally important we bring the nation’s<br />
homes up to or beyond an acceptable standard<br />
by getting the fabric of the building as<br />
energy efficient as possible. Using the highest<br />
performing products, such as PIR insulation,<br />
will go a long way to achieve this. Only then<br />
will we be able to provide a long-term asset<br />
that can be passed onto future generations.<br />
For more information about the Insulation<br />
Manufacturers<br />
Association please visit:<br />
www.insulationmanufacturers.org.uk<br />
We all know that energy<br />
efficiency improvements<br />
should play their part<br />
in helping those in fuel<br />
poverty to keep up with<br />
rising energy costs, but<br />
with government-backed<br />
delivery of home energy<br />
efficiency improvements<br />
stalling, we inevitably end<br />
up playing political football<br />
with the issue whilst the<br />
poorest and most<br />
vulnerable in society suffer.<br />
Simon Storer<br />
25
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
Artifical Intelligence<br />
and the Insulation industry<br />
Jamie Street Lead Creative at <strong>Insulate</strong> Network<br />
What impact will Artificial Intelligence have on the Insulation Industry? From<br />
insulation products and manufacturing processes to installation and performance<br />
it’s exciting to speculate how Insulation will be affected by Artificial<br />
Intelligence. By Jamie Street<br />
Everyday Artificial Intelligence<br />
Artificial Intelligence has always been a fascination<br />
for me and for many I’m sure. From Terminator and<br />
Robocop to i-Robot and Westworld, the prospect of<br />
a world populated by robots is common in Hollywood<br />
and all forms of visual entertainment.<br />
In the UK we have already had the pleasure of<br />
self-service checkouts for almost a decade. Amazon’s<br />
Go 1 has seen the first introduction of “no lines, no<br />
checkouts”, giving customers in the U.S unprecedented<br />
shopping freedom. In Dubai they have recently<br />
launched their first “robotic cop” to handle smaller<br />
workforce duties. Whilst In Japan and China we are<br />
already seeing the rapid replacement of humans on<br />
the factory production line, with the long term goal of<br />
replacing human labour altogether 3 .<br />
Whilst Artificial Intelligenceis often seen as the “future”,<br />
there is no denying the future is upon us.<br />
Vision for the Future<br />
A recent article from construction enquirer 4<br />
discusses Balfour Beatty’s vision for construction<br />
sites in 2050. Balfour believe the majority of work will<br />
be done off-site, work will be completed by robotic<br />
cranes and diggers overseen by drones. Construction<br />
materials will be dynamic and capable of self-assembly,<br />
on-site humans would wear exoskeletons to<br />
improve performance whilst others would be deployed<br />
off-site to monitor drones and cameras from afar.<br />
Terms like “offsite”, “drones” and even “exoskeletons”<br />
are more than familiar in todays vocabulary, so this<br />
picture for 2050 is already materialising.<br />
Paul Forrester’s 5 “offsite” feature in issue<br />
15 of insulate magazine and the<br />
signifiant presence of offsite at<br />
ecobuild this year is<br />
just the tip of the<br />
iceberg.<br />
26
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
Insulation Technology<br />
Furthermore, an announcement from Caterpiller<br />
provides some insight into the Artificial Intelligence<br />
we can expect to see on construction sites in the<br />
not too distant future. The article details Caterpillar’s<br />
recent investment into a brick-laying robot capable<br />
of laying 1,000 bricks an hour<br />
A Complex Concept<br />
So is Artificial Intelligence unavoidable and we<br />
should all fear for our jobs? Well there appears to<br />
be a bit of ironing out to be done when it comes to<br />
more intricate detailed tasks<br />
A recent article from TRIB live 7 highlights BMW’s<br />
requirement for human skills over AI for intricate and<br />
complex tasks at their largest factory. In the same<br />
article, Cisco Systems notes the complications<br />
Unsurpising Evolution<br />
It probably doesn’t seem a shock to many that<br />
Artificial Intelligence will be a dominant feature of<br />
the construction industry work force in years to<br />
come. Factories and building sites have used machines<br />
for years, off-site construction continues to<br />
grow in popularity and newer technologies such as<br />
BIM are now common phrases in the construction<br />
landscape.<br />
However, as with all industries it does raise<br />
questions over the role of humans and the<br />
investment required to adopt the<br />
new technologies.<br />
with extracting data<br />
from highly automated<br />
manufacturing processes.<br />
<strong>Issue</strong>s of trust are also a<br />
significant factor. The issue of<br />
speed seems to be a stumbling<br />
block when it comes to more<br />
intricate tasks. The BBC 8 reported<br />
that burger flipping robot had to be<br />
taken offline because it was too slow.<br />
Despite these teething problems, it’s a matter of<br />
time before issues of speed, efficiency and even<br />
trust are overcome and robots of a common fixture.<br />
But What About Insulation?<br />
At this stage you are probably wondering, “But<br />
What about Insulation?”. Well here goes.<br />
As a key component within the construction<br />
process, the forecasts from Balfour Beatty will<br />
undoubtedly play a significant role. Robotic<br />
installation, self-assembly, off-site construction<br />
and more.<br />
We are already seeing leading manufacturers<br />
utilising virtual reality at exhibitions to showcase<br />
their products, which points towards a similar<br />
embrace when it comes to more advanced<br />
Artificial intelligence.<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
27
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
Insulation Technology<br />
Insulation Products and Artificial Intelligence<br />
Will the capabilities of Artificially Intelligent life forms<br />
be so advanced that they are able to identify insulation<br />
products that offer better performance in specific<br />
environments and locations? Perform scientific<br />
calculations that allow for the development of insulation<br />
solutions that haven’t previously been considered?<br />
Or the lower risk to human error by making it<br />
possible to use materials that were previously overlooked?<br />
It’s exciting to consider how insulation products will<br />
evolve as a consequence of Artificial Intelligence. In<br />
the short-term Insulation products will undoubtedly be<br />
thinner, lighter and better performing than ever before.<br />
A big question to ask is whether insulation materials<br />
and products will be a standalone product category<br />
at all? Is Structural Insulation Panels (SIPS) a sign of<br />
things to come as insulation becomes integral to other<br />
elements of construction?<br />
Will construction materials become like the modern<br />
mobile phone, becoming “smart” materials that<br />
integrate thermal and acoustic benefits into one single<br />
high performance kitchen top?<br />
Insulation Manufacturing<br />
The visions for on-site construction will be ten-fold<br />
when it comes to Artificial Intelligence’s impact on<br />
insulation manufacturing. Insulation factories will be<br />
populated with even more robotic machines than they<br />
are today, monitored by drones and watched over by<br />
human inspection.<br />
Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly reduce the<br />
margin of error, improve efficiency and increase output<br />
when it comes to Insulation manufacturing process.<br />
The potential for enhanced output of insulation products<br />
as a result of Artificial Intelligence will be most<br />
apparent with 24 hour, 365 day operation becoming<br />
normality. No staff breaks, no holidays, no errors, less<br />
health and safety implications. The cost of AI will be<br />
significant, but the yield benefits appear to justify its<br />
early adoption.<br />
Insulation Distribution<br />
With Heavy Good Vehicles (HGV) predicted to move<br />
from one location to another without a human driver<br />
becoming more of a reality, it’s fascinating to consider<br />
how insulation distribution will be affected. If much<br />
of the construction is completed off-site will the days<br />
of insulation panels and boards being shipped from<br />
factory to construction site be a thing of the past?<br />
Advances are likely to have positive implications in<br />
the reduction of energy consumption and carbon foot<br />
print, but more importantly what role will insulation<br />
distributors play in the future?<br />
With construction taking place off-site will their<br />
services be as essential as they are today and how<br />
will their role need to change to accommodate such<br />
changes in the industry?<br />
Insulation Installation<br />
The degree of accuracy and speed achievable by<br />
future robots suggests humans will have a limited role<br />
in insulation installlation. Insulation materials will likely<br />
be installed off-site and any on-site installation will be<br />
conducted by robots, significantly reducing build times<br />
and human error.<br />
The influence on installation will be effected by the<br />
form insulation products will take in years to come.<br />
Will insulation products be primarily sprayed to exact<br />
depths, without any significant human involvment?<br />
28 www.insulatenetwork.com
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
The implications of Artificial<br />
Intelligence on the Insulation industry as<br />
with all industry’s will undoubtedly be<br />
significant, effecting every process along<br />
the path towards a buildings completion<br />
That answer would appear to be yes, at least for<br />
some applications. As featured in the Decemeber<br />
issue of <strong>Insulate</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, the Q-Bot 9 robot delivers<br />
sprayfoam underfloors to precise depths, whilst saving<br />
money and time. It can’t be long until Insulation panels<br />
and rolls can be installed at unimaginable speeds and<br />
incredible accuracy. AI may even help overcome the<br />
cocerns over human error frequently associated with<br />
insulation installation.<br />
It’s realistic to envisage that AI developments will<br />
speed up build times in all areas of construction,<br />
with projects being completed in weeks if not days.<br />
24 hour operation is a possibility with modern methods<br />
potentially reducing the noise, disturbances and<br />
delays caused by all stages of construction. These<br />
factors would be also be vastly reduced if the majority<br />
of the work is completed offsite. It’s overwhelming to<br />
consider how rapidly existing landscapes and skylines<br />
will develop in short periods of time.<br />
Space for Debate<br />
The implications of Artificial Intelligence on the<br />
Insulation industry as with all industry’s will<br />
undoubtedly be significant, effecting every process<br />
along the path to a buildings completion. I have only<br />
scratched the surface of its potential impact and<br />
it would be interesting to hear from experts in the<br />
insulation industry on how they envisage the future will<br />
unfold. Maybe you already know?<br />
Share your thoughts on the impact of<br />
Artificial Intelligence on the Insulation Industry,<br />
send your comments to news@insulatenetwork.<br />
com or @insulatenetwork on twitter.<br />
References<br />
1. Amazon Go<br />
2. Robotic Cop in Dubai<br />
3. The Robot Revolution : The New Age of Manufacturing<br />
4. Construction Enquirers: Balfour Beatty’s Artificial Intelligance vision<br />
5. The Spotlight is on Offsite Construction, Paul Forrester<br />
6. Caterpillar, 1,000 bricks per hour<br />
7. Burger Flipping robot taken offline after one day, BBC<br />
8. TRIB Live, Why the Robot takeover is proceeding slowly<br />
9. Q-Bot The Robot for Insulating Under Floors<br />
Jamie Street,<br />
Creative at <strong>Insulate</strong> Network<br />
@jamie_insulate<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
29
A site for<br />
sore eyes<br />
Looking at the advantages of BBA Certification<br />
As you well know, major construction work on building sites<br />
involves a huge amount of product and materials checking, not<br />
least to make sure everything meets the exacting requirements<br />
of building regulations. This can be stressful at the best of times<br />
and a helping hand is always welcome.<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 mind<br />
to hundreds of architects and manufacturers alike.<br />
BBA Agrément Certificates are widely read and respected by<br />
industry decision-makers who want to select innovative products<br />
that have been thoroughly assessed by the BBA. Our assessors<br />
have decades of experience in evaluating Offsite Construction,<br />
and we are currently assessing many new systems, adding to the<br />
many already approved including insulated concrete formwork,<br />
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 Scotland<br />
and Northern Ireland. But we go much further than that. We<br />
want to ensure that a system is not only waterproof, warm and<br />
structurally sound; it has to be durable, too. No-one wants to buy<br />
a system with a short life expectancy, so we seek to ensure that it<br />
will last for an appropriate period of time.<br />
Neither are our assessments simply desk exercises. As well as<br />
testing, we go out to the factory to check system documentation<br />
and control, making sure that the specification we approve is<br />
capable of being produced consistently.<br />
We also go out on site to see units being offloaded and installed.<br />
That’s because we know that what may seem simple when<br />
explained in a dry office or factory can turn out to be very<br />
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 statutory<br />
or non-statutory documents have been met.<br />
BBA Agrément Certificates are regarded as quite simply the best<br />
assurances you can get for your off-site products. With BBA’s 50<br />
years of unrivalled expertise in building and construction<br />
certification, it’s easy to see why.<br />
clientservices@bba.star.co.uk<br />
www.bbacerts.co.uk<br />
01923 665300
The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
<strong>Insulate</strong> Columnist<br />
Embracing Ecommerce<br />
Time to take Advantage of Online Opportunities<br />
Andrian Sanders, Director of Ecommerce, Construction Materials Online<br />
A<br />
drian Saunders, Director of eCommerce, Construction Materials Online, analyses the benefits<br />
of eCommerce for the construction industry, and looks at why it is becoming the first choice<br />
for professionals looking to source materials.<br />
The construction industry has firmly entered an era of<br />
connection, with technology radically transforming the<br />
supply chain. eCommerce is now a trusted alternative<br />
to traditional building merchants, not just offering<br />
opportunities for significant cost savings, but also<br />
improved productivity, a greater choice of products<br />
and access to expert support<br />
Construction professionals want fair pricing and a<br />
varied product range, alongside the convenience of<br />
an online retail experience, and a recent survey we<br />
conducted of over 200 professionals from across all<br />
construction trades, to analyse this shift in behaviour,<br />
revealed that 94% now find that online.<br />
Whilst traditional high street builders’ merchants favour<br />
the bricks and mortar approach, product choice is<br />
limited, and employees often lack the expert knowledge<br />
required to make informed recommendations<br />
based on a specific project. With 44% of professionals<br />
now opting for online sourcing in comparison to just<br />
24% favouring high street and commercial merchants,<br />
it’s clear that eCommerce is becoming the preferred<br />
choice.<br />
Construction eCommerce is built on the fundamentals<br />
of modern online customer behaviour, offering a more<br />
collaborative and innovative approach to sourcing<br />
materials, unrestricted by store opening times. Made<br />
to order and bespoke products can also be sourced<br />
quickly, whilst expert online support teams can advise<br />
on how best a project can meet budgets and exceed<br />
building requirements and regulations.<br />
Usually offering far greater product selections and<br />
competitive pricing, it’s little wonder that buying online<br />
is now the favoured option. More than half of survey<br />
respondents agreed, revealing that visits to builders’<br />
merchant chains in the past year have been marred by<br />
product stock shortages - with 55% also witnessing<br />
product price rises.<br />
With the quality and variety of materials continuing to<br />
advance at a rapid pace, it can be difficult for<br />
traditional merchants to keep up. Combined with the<br />
time taken to source materials from the high street,<br />
eCommerce is a viable solution which can significantly<br />
improve productivity, saving valuable time in an industry<br />
focused on meeting tight build deadlines.<br />
Our own company growth is evidence of this, with<br />
over 50,000 products available across our three<br />
eCommerce brands, Roofing Superstore, Drainage<br />
Superstore and Insulation Superstore. Roofing Superstore<br />
is also now the largest online supplier of roofing<br />
materials in the UK, and with strong relationships with<br />
some of the world’s leading manufacturers, it is the<br />
‘one stop shop’ for roofing materials.<br />
We are focused on providing a bespoke, human approach<br />
to eCommerce and are a trusted online source<br />
of building materials - with over 8,000 independent<br />
customer reviews on Trust Pilot, over 90% of which<br />
are positive.<br />
With demand only set to increase for easier and more<br />
efficient methods of purchasing, the industry now<br />
needs to embrace eCommerce, understanding the<br />
value and benefits it brings.<br />
www.insulatenetwork.com<br />
31
The only independent insulation industry trade magazine<br />
Content Partners<br />
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The NIA represents the insulation industry in the UK and our members include manufacturers and<br />
installers of a number of insulation solutions for your home or business. Both the NIA and its members<br />
are fully committed to maintaining and raising standards within the insulation industry.<br />
Contact Name: Neil Marshall Email: neil.marshall@nia-uk.org Website: http://www.nia-uk.org/ Social:<br />
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Established in 1962 (originally as ‘Eurisol’), the Mineral Wool Insulation Manufacturers Association<br />
(MIMA) provides an authoritative source of independent information and advice<br />
on glass and stone wool. MIMA actively promotes the benefits of mineral wool insulation<br />
and the contribution it makes to the energy efficiency of buildings and the comfort and<br />
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