Mistakes in the UK’s Methodology for Calculating Residential Energy Consumption (SAP) makes each new home £500-£1000 more expensive to build. Six errors have been identified in SAP and they are all to do with the way that it calculates the energy saved from Waste Water Heat Recovery (WWHR) systems. With
Scotframe, one of the UK’s most technically advanced timber engineering companies, has been chosen to supply the main structural components of the first fully certified Passivhaus (Passive House) building in a Scottish university. The leading full kit manufacturer and supplier was asked to provide the wall and roof solutions for
Nottingham based creative and CRM agency Diversity has more than doubled in size over the past six months, going from 24 staff to 70. This makes them one of the largest employers of creative minds in Nottingham across their two sites at Arnold and Phoenix Park. Diversity has recently won
Award-winning developer Crest Nicholson has been named the number one UK housebuilder for sustainability by a recent industry assessment. NextGeneration, the benchmark which assesses and ranks the UK’s 25 largest homebuilders on their sustainability performance, has today released its annual report, revealing that Crest Nicholson has come out on top.
The outsourced, bundled facilities management market in central and local government is estimated to have grown by around 3 per cent in 2015, compared with the market value in 2014, according to a report by AMA Research. Having experienced good growth through to 2011, reflecting the move towards greater levels
Mistakes in the UK’s Methodology for Calculating Residential Energy Consumption (SAP) makes each new home £500-£1000 more expensive to build. Six errors have been identified in SAP and they are all to do with the way that it calculates the energy saved from Waste Water Heat Recovery (WWHR) systems. With some at over 60% efficient, these systems are more cost effective to install than almost any other energy saving product. These issues will be explored further at a Press Conference on Thursday 3rd December. Speakers will include Danny Kinahan, MP. The fix is simple and would take less than two days to implement. Recommendations have been taken to Lord Bourne, the Under Secretary State for Climate Change, but he will not sign it off, claiming it to be Cabinet matter. WWHR systems transfer the heat, usually thrown down the drain during showering, back into the house by warming the incoming cold water feed. These systems are already used in the UK, but not in the volumes found in other countries. That something was suspicious about the UK’s SAP calculations first came to light when WWHR was first used in the government funded AIMC4 project. WWHR was installed in a number of homes and their measured performance was 1.4 to 2.7 times better than calculated by SAP. These results were consistent with field measurements obtained elsewhere in Europe and North America, where WWHR technology receives much more credit in regulations and codes. AIMC4 caused two competitors to join forces and carry out some research of their own: “I am still amazed with the types of errors”, said Tony Gordon CEO of BPD the makers of the Showersave Waster Water Heat Recovery product line, which is well known in Holland, “some were really basic, even an algebraic error. These errors are just plain wrong, and need to be fixed. “ “When all the errors were found we took the findings to civil servants in DECC who agreed SAP should be changed,” said Gerald Van Decker, CEO of Power-Pipe Energy Systems. “They worked with us, and highly regarded independent consultants to jointly come up with a simple recommendation to Lord Bourne to undo the errors without having to change the core of SAP itself. We know that Lord Bourne, to use his words, wants “more breathing room for builders”, fixing these errors will provide just that, but he has refused to meet with us to discuss how WWHR can help.” House Builders have to make major changes as they try and make UK homes more energy efficient. By not being given the full benefit of Waste Water Heat Recovery they will need to install other measures which could cost them £0.8 – £2 billion by 2023. About Building Products Distributors Ltd. (BDP) Based in Northern Ireland, BPD co-owns Hei-Tech of The Netherlands. Hei-Tech is developer and manufacturer of the Showersave technology. The Showersave is now installed in over 45,000 residences. .
Scotframe, one of the UK’s most technically advanced timber engineering companies, has been chosen to supply the main structural components of the first fully certified Passivhaus (Passive House) building in a Scottish university. The leading full kit manufacturer and supplier was asked to provide the wall and roof solutions for the University of Aberdeen’s showpiece Rocking Horse Nursery in the Powis Gate area off College Bounds. It supplied Val-U-Therm™ panels, which helped create a class-leading energy performance, for the newly-completed £2 million building, which is the first pre-school facility in Scotland to adopt the demanding energy efficient design concept. The project, carried out by Hybrid Build Solutions, was a collaboration between Scotframe and Glulam Solutions of Inverurie, which provides solutions using Glulam/CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) engineered structures. Philip Edwards, who has a sales and estimating role at Scotframe and is also a director of Hybrid Build Solutions, said: “BMJ Architects contacted us when this exciting project was first proposed. “We supplied factory insulated Val-U-Therm™ exterior wall panels and roof cassettes which are well in excess of most existing thermal performance standards. The wall panels were 235mm and the roof cassettes were 300mm deep. “One of the most significant keys to Passivhaus standards is the level of airtightness, which requires a continuous, tight building envelope. The Scotframe panels achieved a figure considerably lower in terms of air changes per hour than those actually specified for Passivhaus projects. Syd Birnie, director at Glulam Solutions and Hybrid Build Solutions said: “It was always going to be a very challenging, but notable, project. We worked with the architect/contractor to offer the most cost-effective thermal solution. “This allowed us to use the Val-U-Therm™ system alongside the supporting Glulam frames, which helped substantially in achieving the extremely high levels of thermal and airtightness performance necessary for the Passivhaus accreditation. “Hybrid Build Solutions worked closely with the design team to engineer the best overall solutions and, with careful installation of the systems, handed over an already high performing structure to the main contractor who carried out additional cladding works internally and externally as well as the fitting of high specification glazing systems. “Hybrid Build Solutions is very proud to have been involved in such a ground-breaking project, which has achieved an excellent performance, reduced the on-site programme and is an aesthetically pleasing finished building.” Calum Proctor, project manager at Aberdeen University, said: “This was an exciting project to work on, and required great teamwork from our design and construction partners and all our suppliers. “Together we’ve delivered a building of very high quality which meets the challenging Passivhaus standard. The children and staff are very much enjoying their new home, and that is thanks to all who were involved.” The Rocking Horse Nursery building, which will cater for 78 children in the University community, used more than five kilometres of specialist tape. The glue on the tape is the same strength and quality as that used on aircraft wings. The university building is the latest prestige project for Inverurie and Cumbernauld-based manufacturer Scotframe, which has a track record in Passivhaus-standard projects. It is the largest timber frame manufacturer in Scotland and the third largest in the UK. It marked its first quarter century last year with a record 160 employees and annual sales in excess of £35 million. The company has supplied more than 25,000 homes and commercial buildings across Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. It has also developed a strong global presence with sales in Denmark, France, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. It has taken a leadership role in the sustainable construction sector with consistently innovative thinking and practices which are helping to map out the future of environmentally friendly building methods. For further information, contact Scotframe Timber Engineering Limited, Inverurie Business Park, Souterford Avenue, Inverurie AB51 0ZJ. Tel: 01467 624 440. F: 01467 624 255. E: inverurie@scotframe.co.uk W: www.scotframe.co.uk
Nottingham based creative and CRM agency Diversity has more than doubled in size over the past six months, going from 24 staff to 70. This makes them one of the largest employers of creative minds in Nottingham across their two sites at Arnold and Phoenix Park. Diversity has recently won several significant pieces of new business, one of them being a creative idea conceived in 2014 and realised this month with the national launch of Dulux Amazing Space, a revolutionary online design service created to help make interior design accessible and affordable to consumers. The Dulux Amazing Space team of interior designers is employed by Diversity and based at Phoenix Park in Nottingham, including many design and art graduates from Nottingham Trent University. The new building is a centre for interior design excellence and a showcase of creativity. With art and design in every corner, there are state-of-the-art creative studios, bright airy think tanks, sleek modern conference rooms, photography studios and soundproof booths where consultations take place. Diversity’s Founder Di Slaney commented: “The brief from Dulux has been one of the most original and exciting projects we have worked on. Given the considerable task in hand, as an agency we were challenged to come up with a groundbreaking new way of working to be able to deliver a project of this scale and profile.” Diversity’s Deputy MD Simon Elliott was responsible for leading this project with the client: “We always endeavour to work as an extension of client’s team, however bringing the Dulux Amazing Space service to life has taken us one step further. Our 16 year relationship with Dulux has evolved into a unique commercial partnership, which has enabled us to successfully deliver the total package. We’ve been involved at every stage of the project, from recruiting and employing the designers and management team, to sourcing the building, creating a design-led work space, developing the supply chain and even choosing the coffee cups! The end product is a seamless and innovative design service for consumers and a truly ‘amazing space’ for Dulux to operate in, where the brand literally comes alive to help inspire the design team.” Dulux Amazing Space is a natural progression for the Dulux brand, and is an extension of their interior design services for domestic and commercial markets. It is also a natural extension of Diversity’s work as part of their CRM service – other big CRM business wins this year for the agency have been with Velux, running their Certified Installer Scheme, and an innovations project for British Gypsum. For more information about Diversity visit www.diversity.agency For more information about Dulux Amazing Space visit www.designer.duluxamazingspace.co.uk
Award-winning developer Crest Nicholson has been named the number one UK housebuilder for sustainability by a recent industry assessment. NextGeneration, the benchmark which assesses and ranks the UK’s 25 largest homebuilders on their sustainability performance, has today released its annual report, revealing that Crest Nicholson has come out on top. The Report also reveals the home building industry as whole continues to break new ground in sustainable home delivery. The NextGeneration report, assesses housebuilders on a wide range of criteria relating to high-quality, sustainable housebuilding. All house builders are given an overall percentage score out of 100, with Crest Nicholson leading the way with a top score of 83 percent, well above the industry average of 37. The report is administered by by JLL and overseen by executive committee members UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Commenting on the NextGeneration report findings, Chris Tinker, Chairman of Regeneration and Board Director responsible for Sustainability, Crest Nicholson, said: “To be named best performing housebuilder in this year’s NextGeneration benchmark is testament to Crest Nicholson’s ongoing commitment to sustainable best practice. Our internal campaigns, including ‘Make Waste History’, are providing real business benefits by improving the use of our materials and ultimately, delivering high quality homes responsibly. It is also positive to see the sector as a whole is improving its performance. Initiatives like NextGeneration continue to facilitate improved sustainable practices, together with sharing best practice and aiding collaboration across the housebuilding industry.” Alex Edds, Head of UK Sustainability, JLL, said: “It is really encouraging to see that members are clearly benefitting from participating in the benchmark. Members have already made significant headway in improving the efficiency of new homes, in spite of a changing regulatory environment and key material and skilled worker shortages. We have seen continued innovation in construction methods, supply chain engagement and labour standards. For example, this year, 33 percent of all homes delivered by members included low carbon technologies while 676 apprentices were appointed. Home building is clearly a hot topic in UK society, and I for one am glad that the NextGeneration members continue to focus on delivering quality sustainable homes for future generations.” The full NextGeneration report is available to view here.
The outsourced, bundled facilities management market in central and local government is estimated to have grown by around 3 per cent in 2015, compared with the market value in 2014, according to a report by AMA Research. Having experienced good growth through to 2011, reflecting the move towards greater levels of outsourcing of a wider range of services and a high level of investment in facilities, the market declined in 2012 as government spending fell and the central and local government estate underwent consolidation to manage national debt and improve carbon emissions. This slow growth continued into 2014. Factors supporting the market include increasing penetration within central and local government, a move towards a greater array of services being outsourced, and the need for government departments to achieve significant cost savings to meet tighter budgets, with the government encouraging greater use of the private sector partners to help achieve this. Nevertheless, there remains sustained pressure on margins, reflecting consolidation in the market and greater numbers of larger FM contractors who are intent on ensuring that they win enough business to fill their capacity. In addition, the government’s continuing activity to reduce the size of its estate has continued to have an effect on contract opportunities – both in central government and local government sectors. The market for FM in both sectors is expected to improve, growing by 3 per cent in 2015 and remaining positive through to 2019, says the report.
