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Always featuring numerous articles on a wide range of eco-building projects from all around the UK, most of which are written by the very people that designed or built them. It is the ideal read for architects, builders, developers, self builders and anyone interested in eco-building, including interested homeowners/clients.
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Thermafleece Top of the Class |
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2 Apr 2009, 6:27 PM
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Upton Cross Primary School in Liskeard, Cornwall, has installed Thermafleece PB20 as part of an ongoing strategy to harness green technologies and implement energy saving measures to make the building more efficient.
Thermafleece PB20 is the latest innovation from ecological insulation specialist Second Nature UK Ltd. This unique product sees wool from British mountain sheep blended with recycled polyester to create a sustainable insulating product that can be easily compressed and packaged into a tight roll without losing any thickness once unrolled.
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Upton Cross Primary School, an old Victorian school building, already utilises many ecological technologies and was the first school in Cornwall to harness power generated via its own wind turbine. Since then, the school has gone on to win the ‘SW Teaching Award for Sustainability’ in recognition of its leadership in this area. Ensuring the school was properly insulated in order to maximise these efficiencies became a priority. It was an IT installation that provided the final prompt to action.
Eric Cowan, a governor at the school and director of Flying Flounder IT www.flyingflounder.co.uk , explains: “I was tasked with installing two projectors which involved access to the suspended ceilings via scaffolding – it was a clear opportunity to get our insulation sorted at the same time.
“We wanted a product that would be easy to use, ecologically sound and that would also present no potential risk to the children, either while in storage or once installed. We went to Back to Earth, www.backtoearth.co.uk, consultants on natural building solutions, and they recommended Thermafleece PB20.”
With a thermal conductivity rating of 0.042 W/Mk, better than most equivalent conventional insulation products, Thermafleece PB20 certainly fitted the bill in terms of performance. Its natural fibre composition also meant it would be easy to handle and would actually improve the air quality in the school, with the wool fibres attracting and holding airborne pollutants.
Chris Dewhirst, Technical Sales Manager at Second Nature, commented: “Wool based insulation is ideal to use in buildings housing larger numbers of people such as schools and other educational establishments. The reason for this is that the fibres actually allow the insulation to ‘breathe’, regulating humidity levels and creating a more pleasant environment to work, or in this case learn in. Wool also fixes potentially harmful pollutants such as formaldehyde which can be particularly harmful to younger people and children.”
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