Offering outstanding thermal efficiency and green credentials, EcoTherm® polyisocyanurate (PIR) boards are providing a sustainable insulation solution for the roof, walls and floors of the new Sandal Magna Junior and Infants School in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
The use of EcoTherm® PIR insulation is helping the green school building project to exceed thermal efficiency standards under current Building Regulations by at least 10%. In fact, a U-value of 0.13 W/m2K - that is 35% better than Building Regulations - has been projected for one of the roof constructions incorporating 100mm EcoTherm Pitched-Roof insulation board.
Due for completion in the summer of 2010, Sandal Magna School has been chosen to receive the Government’s Zero Carbon Exemplar Funding for its innovative use of renewable energy and sustainable materials.
Designed by London-based Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, the new school consists of three single-storey wings linked by a series of glazed sections. Sustainable features include a ground-source heat pump powered by a 100m2 photovoltaic array, and bricks reclaimed from the demolished Victorian school building it replaces.
Commenting on the decision to specify EcoTherm, Project Architect Mark Hadden says: “EcoTherm®’s thermal calculations based on our design specifications show that we can easily meet, and even exceed UK Building Regulations, using their high efficiency PIR insulation.” EcoTherm 60mm Cavity-Wall PIR board is being used to insulate cavity walls in the new school, offering thermal resistance (‘R’ values) of 2.17m2k/W. This purpose-designed solution is faced with aluminium foil on both sides to enhance thermal resistance of the retained cavity.
The 1,200mm x 450mm boards co-ordinate with standard sized brick and block dimensions and are easily fitted to partial-fill cavity walls without impacting on the building’s useable space. The school roof combines flat, pitched and sedum planted elements. Flat roof sections are insulated with 100mm EcoTherm® Glass-Therm PIR board which has a mineral coated glass fibre tissue on both sides and an ‘R’ value of 3.7m2k/W. Pitched roofs are insulated with 2,400mm x 1,200mm EcoTherm® PIR boards with an aluminium foil composite on both sides. Suitable for warm/cold pitched roofs, loft ceilings and floors, this versatile product in a 75mm thick version will also provide high performance insulation between the concrete sub floor and screed of the school’s underfloor heating system. In addition to high thermal efficiency,
EcoTherm® PIR board offers zero ozone depletion, a Global Warming Potential of 3 (well below the target limit of 5) and excellent durability - all of which contribute to a building’s sustainability rating. The stable and inert structure of the board gives it an almost indefinite service life, with no degradation in energy saving properties over the complete life cycle of the building - so there is no reduction in the building’s low carbon performance, and no energy is required to make or install replacements.
All the EcoTherm® Cavity-Wall, Pitched-Roof and Glass-Therm insulation boards specified for the new Sandal Magna School - a total of 2,075m2 - is being supplied through the Leeds branch of Encon Insulation, a leading national distributor of insulation and construction products. With production facilities across Europe, and a brand new high-capacity line at its plant in Essex, EcoTherm® supplies its product range in the UK through insulation distributors and builders’ merchants nationwide.
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