Pipe Insulation Blog

During the conversion of a Grade II Listed Water Tower into a high specification home, Andy Critchlow, Director of AEW Architects was faced with the challenge of how to create a thermally efficient building from a structure that when originally built was never intended to be a home. To achieve excellent thermal efficiency, low environmental impact and deliver a building fit for its new purpose, AEW specified a range of PIR insulation products from market leader Celotex .  Due to the nature of the building and to retain the existing brickwork aesthetic as agreed with the Local Planning Authority, the insulation had to be installed on the inside of the existing structure. AEW specified four Celotex products for various elements of the innovative refurbishment and remodelling project - filmed for Channel 4 show The Restoration Man, hosted by architect George Clarke. To minimise loss of space, the insulation chosen had to be as thin as possible whilst achieving exceptional thermal perf

ROCKWOOL has announced the launch of its new online U-value calculator , now available on the ROCKWOOL website. Users are able to calculate the thermal performance of walls, floors and roofs by inputting tailored information relevant to the project in question. The free and easy to use U-value calculator contains around 2,500 calculations that have been certified under the BBA/TIMSA U-value competency scheme, providing accurate and industry informed results. Users can tweak the results by altering the U-value or the thickness of the insulation specified. The ROCKWOOL U-value calculator covers the following constructions: ·         Ground floors – concrete, beam and block and timber ·         Masonry cavity – full-fill and partial-fill ·         Timber frame – external wall, hybrid wall and cladding ·         Rainscreen ·         EWI – solid brick, block and metal frame ·         Pitched roof – horizontal and rafter line ·         Flat roof – metal, concrete and

Kingspan Industrial Insulation Ltd’s Kooltherm® FM Pipe Insulation System has been installed as part of a multi-million pound education and sports development in South Wales, helping the project towards its goal of BREEAM ‘Excellent’. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s £50m redevelopment of the Ynys site in Aberdare combines a ‘super-school’, with capacity for 1600 students, and high quality indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including a state-of-the-art leisure centre which will be used as training centre for the National Diving Development Centre for Wales. Laing O’Rourke oversaw the phased construction programme, with the new leisure centre completed before the existing building was demolished. Both Aberdare Community School and Sobell Leisure Centre have been pre-assessed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and the Kingspan Kooltherm® FM Pipe Insulation System helped contribute, directly and indirectly, to the award of these ratings. Atkins specified the premium performance system for hot a

As part of its forward thinking approach to responsible sourcing, Kingspan Insulation was one of the earliest adopters of the BES 6001: Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products standard. Now the firm has gone even further, becoming the first insulation manufacturer to have its products certified as ‘Excellent’ under BES 6001. The rigorous standard, developed by BRE Global, provides a detailed framework of the processes which must be addressed to ensure responsible sourcing of construction materials. These include organisational governance, supply chain management and environmental and social elements. Once the certificate has been awarded, key data is verified annually by the BRE . Following its most recent audit under issue 3.0 of BES 6001, all Kooltherm , KoolDuct and Therma insulation products and cavity closers manufactured at Kingspan Insulation’s facilities in Pembridge and Selby have now been certified to the ‘Excellent’ level. The certification provides clear, ind

Earlier this year, fifty 7 to 8 year old students from Oldcastle Primary School visited the Woodland Cabin at ROCKWOOL in Bridgend to understand how insulation is made, and how Natural Resources Wales (NRW) supports the Welsh environment. ROCKWOOL has a long standing relationship with NRW, which ensures the environment and natural resources of Wales are sustainably maintained and used, now and in the future. ROCKWOOL established this partnership to allow NRW to run educational visits in the diverse woodland on the ROCKWOOL site. With the support of STEMnet, school teachers, the ROCKWOOL environment team and the NRW education team, children from Oldcastle Primary School enjoyed a tour of the woodland and the local environment. The group learnt how a local NRW regulated factory melts rocks into lava, passed it through a ‘candy floss machine’ and turns it into insulation. They discovered why insulating houses was important to stop heat loss, and had the chance to search for spide

As work progresses on the refurbishment and super-insulation of three 11 storey social housing blocks at Wilmcote House in Portsmouth, ROCKWOOL has revealed preliminary findings from resident research carried out by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as part of the project. These early results demonstrate the urgent need for renovation at Wilmcote House to address concerns with fuel poverty, energy leakage and tenant health and also endorse the positive community engagement practised by Portsmouth City Council on the project. The Council’s whole building refurbishment of the 107 maisonettes at Wilmcote House , a building originally constructed in 1968, will dramatically improve residents’ standard of living, increase comfort levels and reduce fuel costs. The project involves the deep retrofit and installation of multiple insulation measures, including ROCKWOOL external wall insulation. Lead architects for the project, ECD, target that on completion of w

Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh Calls for Strong Global Agreement at COP 21 in Paris Kingspan has been identified as a global leader for its actions and strategies in response to climate change and has been awarded a position on The Climate “A” List by CDP, the international not-for-profit that measures environmental impact of thousands of companies around the world. 113 “A Listers” appear on the 2015 list, which has been produced at the request of 822 investors who represent more than a third of the world’s invested capital, and over $95 trillion of assets under management. Nearly 2,000 companies submitted information to be independently assessed against CDP’s scoring methodology, and the list features some of the world’s best known companies including Apple, Microsoft and Google, the three largest by market capitalization. Kingspan is among 5% of the corporations participating in CDP’s climate change program to be awarded a position on the Climate A List, in recognition of its a

Since taking its first pioneering steps in the manufacture of glasswool insulation in 1930, Saint-Gobain has followed a path of continuous improvement and innovation that has brought it, today, to its position as the world's leading insulation company. Isover TEL Process In the early years, the company's focus on production technology and fibre quality led to the development of its world-leading TEL process. This ground breaking process literally turned glasswool production technology on its head, introducing the concept of centrifugal force and hot-air attenuation to produce a completely new generation of glass fibre of a quality and consistency never before envisaged. As the business expanded, and the company continued to develop worldwide on the basis of its technological excellence, the focus moved to customer service. Every aspect of customer service was reviewed and improved, with particular attention on key issues such as IT, logistics and palletisation. This led t

Isover Foil Faced Pipe Insulation Isover foil faced pipe insulation is designed to provide thermal and acoustic insulation of copper and steel pipework. These are strong, lightweight pre-formed ‘snap on’ sections, manufactured from up to 80% recycled content. Isover Foil Faced Pipe Sections provide a factory applied reinforced aluminium foil covering, incorporating a self adhesive overlap, providing an effective vapour control finish. Features: High levels of thermal and acoustic performance. Consistent density and concentricity of bore positioning provides consistent performance along the length of the section. Euroclass A2 fire rating when classified with BS EN 13501-1. Manufactured from up to 80% recycled content. Isover Foil Faced Pipe Section corresponds to the BRE Gloabal Green Guide online generic specification 'Glass wool insulation - density 80kg/m³' ref 915320059 which achieves a summary rating of A+ within Domestic, Health, Industrial, commercial, ret

Due for completion in 2017, Marina One is a new, mixed-use development in Singapore, comprised of residential living areas, office towers and retail podiums, designed by renowned architect Christoph Ingenhoven. The project has already received expert recognition in the industry, having been awarded 3 titles at the 2012 Asia Pacific Property Awards for Best High Rise Architecture, Best Mixed Use Architecture and Best Mixed Use Development, and has also been certified by Singapore’s Green Mark Platinum and LEED Platinum schemes. ROCKWOOL Asia contributes to the project as part of its recently introduced ‘Safe‘n’Silent’ product range for drywall partition system, offering a more holistic package to architects, system partners, distributors and contractors, that includes marketing collaterals, system performance materials and necessary training. The Safe‘n’Silent solution is based on the Noise Criteria (NC) concept, giving the architects a complete toolset to aid the design pro

ROCKWOOL are delighted to announce that they have achieved certification to ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management System Standard. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body comprising representatives from various national standards organizations. The ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems Standard aims to help companies continually reduce their energy use, and therefore their energy costs and their greenhouse gas emissions.  The standard provides a framework of requirements for companies to: Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy Use data to better understand and make decisions about energy use Measure the results Review how well the policy works, and Continually improve energy management To achieve this standard, ROCKWOOL extended its existing Management Systems to conform to the clauses in ISO 50001 and carried out a comprehensive review of all energy sour

As part of the membership, the GRODAN business will play a part in safeguarding the strategic future of vertical farming and developing this new and high-tech horticultural sector. In recent years the environmental benefits of technologies made available in the horticultural sector have developed rapidly, offering up modern solutions to counter global challenges of the future. The Association for Vertical Farming is an internationally active non-profit organisation which supports the practice of cultivating plant life in a skyscraper greenhouse or on a vertically inclined surface, thereby reducing the need for land and enabling a more efficient farming process in an artificially controlled environment. The modern idea of vertical farming uses techniques similar to glass houses, where natural sunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting and metal reflectors. The association, which is comprised of individuals, companies, research institutions and universities, focusse

Rockwool Manufacturing Plant in Germany After a thorough analysis, the CEO of the ROCKWOOL Group is introducing a global programme of change to raise the level of ambition for the business. Jens Birgersson has devoted his first months as CEO of the ROCKWOOL Group to carrying out an in-depth analysis of the company’s performance. His conclusion is clear. If the company is to maintain and develop its position as the leading global supplier of stone wool – as it has to – it will have to raise profitability. ‘Stone wool has some superb characteristics. The combination of fire safety and energy efficiency is unique. Measured over a period of 50 years, our products save more than 100 times the energy that goes into producing them. The global society’s ever-increasing focus on energy efficiency presents us with some outstanding opportunities, but growth has to go hand in hand with income,’ says ROCKWOOL Group CEO Jens Birgersson. Rockwool Headquarters in Denmark The ROCKWOO

ROCKWOOL UK has recently donated 280m2 of its ROCKPRIME® blown loft insulation as part of a transformation of eight properties in Manchester creating a new community for service veterans which will be shown in a BBC One ' DIY SOS: The Big Build ’ Veterans’ Special. A first-of-its-kind partnership, the project is bringing together Manchester City DIY SOS: Big Build, Manchester City Council ; charities Walking With The Wounded and Haig Housing ; and Adactus Housing Groups - along with a huge amount of time, expertise, materials and supplies donated to the project by volunteer contractors. Described by DIY SOS's builders as their "most ambitious" project to date, works will ultimately see 62 properties in Canada Street and New Street, set in the Newton Heath part of the city, undergo major renovation. During the two one hour programmes due to be screened on BBC One on 14th and 21st October at 8pm, viewers will see eight of the streets' empty homes refurbishe

The shelter, which was airlifted into position with the help of the Slovenian army, offers breath-taking views of the surrounding Kamnik Alps and can sleep up to eight mountaineers. The project stems from an architectural workshop hosted by renowned Slovenian architects Spela Videcnik and Rok Oman, OFIS, who set the challenge to design a cabin fit to withstand the harsh Slovenian alpine climate; replacing a 50 year old, well-worn and weather-beaten existing storm shelter located on a plot below Skuta Mountain. Skuta is the third highest peak in the Kamnik Alps and therefore endures extreme climactic conditions all year round including radical temperature shifts and extreme weather fronts, making cabins such as this a necessity for mountaineers who would otherwise be completely vulnerable. Perched on the edge of a rock face, the new cabin, which was devised by a group of Harvard University students present during the workshop, is anchored to the ground using metal joints to wit

The ROCKWOOL Group provides optimal thermal solutions in the world’s northernmost observatory in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway. The Veidekke Arctic Geodetic Earth Observatory , which is part of a worldwide research network, will contribute to more accurate climate monitoring and is the northernmost observatory on the planet. The project consists of 3 main buildings, interconnected via a series of footbridges – crucial during the harsh arctic winter storms. The overall design of the construction was focussed to combat this problem, with any solution needing to be capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions in a brutally cold environment, while the unique shape of the construction also offered up an unusual challenge. The buildings are designed with multiple sloping walls, complex angles and awkward joints, causing problems for more traditional methods of insulation. As a result, ROCKWOOL insulation was chosen as a means to entirely cover the inclined walls in a manner sim

A ROCKWOOL regeneration project in Manchester has once again been shortlisted in an industry awards scheme. This project, which incorporates both ROCKWOOL and ROCKPANEL products, is a finalist in the Buildings & Energy Efficiency (B&EE) Awards. The B&EE Awards reward projects that showcase innovation, best practice and contribute to an attractive, energy efficient and sustainable built environment. With the judging panel including experts from the National Energy Foundation, Green Gauge Trust, Zero Carbon Hub, Salford University and Procure Plus, the process is vigorous, as the panel is looking for projects that promote excellence in buildings across the UK. ROCKWOOL has made it through the first stage and has been shortlisted for Domestic Retrofit. This category celebrates projects that have successfully produced an energy efficient building. ROCKWOOL Collyhurst project focuses on the regeneration of thirteen council-owned tower blocks. The tired, dated and the

The new facility, situated in Wielkopolska, near Wrzesnia, will manufacture the successor to the VW Crafter and is insulated using ROCKWOOL solutions. Covering an area of over 220 hectares – approximately the same size as 300 football pitches – the new plant marks the largest ever investment in the borough of Wrzesnia and will be capable of manufacturing 100, 000 cars per year once fully operational. ROCKWOOL Poland is a proven supplier in similar large-scale investments, having only last year dealt with the demand for 100,000 m2 of insulation in each of the new Amazon centres in Sady and Wroclaw. The sheer size of the new VW facility in Wrzenia required a contribution of 210, 000 m2 of ROCKWOOL slabs to the project, which will ensure industry-leading performance in fire resistance (REI) – particularly crucial in such a high-tech, costly facility. However, the key reason as to why ROCKWOOL Solutions are so readily applicable to this new VW plant is because it is a flat roof s

Already a market leader in the industrial insulation market, ROCKWOOL TECHNICAL INSULATION (RTI) shows its versatility in this latest marine project, where SeaRox is the primary solution used to insulate the ‘Harmony of the Seas’, the world’s largest cruise liner. The ship, which is set to be the largest of its kind in the world, measures a total of 361 metres long and 66 metres wide, and is the result of a $1.3 billion contract to take on the project signed in 2012 by the STX shipyard in Saint Nazaire (France), in cooperation with Royal Caribbean Cruises . RTI is the chosen insulation provider for the ship, which has necessitated a supply of over 1,800 tonnes of SeaRox products, equating to more than 320,000 m2 of insulation. Daniela Ferrari, Sales Manager for RTI, explains: “The fire safe qualities of SeaRox insulation make the ship a safer place for crew members and guests, while the acoustic and thermal benefits create a more comfortable and relaxing environment for trave

Llanfair Primary School is a well-established learning environment, having first opened its doors over 100 years ago.  The Project Llanfair Primary School is a well-established learning environment, having first opened its doors over 100 years ago. Based in Cowbridge in Wales, the school has received investment from the Vale of Glamorgan Council to improve and update facilities, with some buildings being demolished and rebuilt, while others receive upgrades.  One particular roof at the school was experiencing occasional roof leaks and required a cost effective solution. Roofing Technologies was the main contractor on this project, and worked directly with the council to complete the refurbishment works. "The product which was originally recommended would not have been compatible with the current roof surface. It was our aim to find a cost effective alternative. After hearing about the new ROCKWOOL flat roofing product, we specified its HARDROCK® Multi-Fix Recovery Boa

The invention of IPN-QuadCore is a quantum leap on the journey to high-performance buildings that are better for the environment and for business. This scientific breakthrough has led to a completely new core material for Kingspan's insulated panels that delivers the industry’s highest thermal performance, superior fire protection and enhanced environmental credentials, all backed by peace of mind and a unique 40 year thermal and structural guarantee that’s unrivaled among advanced building systems. IPN-QuadCore delivers an unbeaten thermal performance of 0.018 W/m.K*; the best in the industry. Together with optimised building design, this pushes the potential for heat loss reduction and solar gain to new levels. Better thermal efficiency in the building envelope reduces the load on heating and cooling, creating significant additional energy savings and making IPN-QuadCore a game-changer in terms of enhanced building lifetime performance. Today’s buildings must meet a v

Whether at home, work or leisure, most of our time is spent inside buildings, so it is important to feel comfortable in these spaces. The optimum environment is created from a combination of the correct ambient temperature, humidity and lighting, access to necessary resources and suitable acoustic insulation. When a sound wave passing through the air meets a partition some of the energy is reflected and the rest is absorbed. Part of the absorbed energy will spread within the partition, and the rest crosses through the partition and is transmitted to the other side, so it is important to have good, high performance acoustic insulation to enhance the quality of life. K-FLEX offers good value, high performance acoustic solutions to meet the demands of construction projects. K-FLEX insulation is high quality, has excellent durability and optimum design features, complying with the required regulations Many years’experiene in the research and development of new materials ena

Earthwool insulation available from Knauf Insulation helped the builders of an environment-friendly display home achieve an 8 star energy rating in Australia.  The Ecoliv Buildings Eco-Balanced Display Home by Beaumont Concepts Building Design features a finely tuned yet modest design. The Eco Balanced 1 pushes the boundaries of standard domestic construction to achieve the cost, time and resource efficiencies that appeal to the sustainable prefabricated housing market. With an 8 star energy rating, this home displays what can be achieved when building a cost-effective and environment-friendly home. The display home combines a contemporary form and streamlined layout with a passive solar design and systems integration to ensure thermal comfort all year round. The home’s interior focusses on using affordable, sustainably sourced and recyclable finishes with low toxicity to preserve the internal air quality. The passive solar design achieves an 8 star thermal performance ratin

NEW £100M PORT OF LIVERPOOL BIOMASS FACILITY TO SUPPORT EU’S LARGEST DECARBONISATION PROJECT AT DRAX POWER STATION A new £100m biomass terminal planned for the Port of Liverpool will see it handle up to three million tonnes of wood pellets a year as part of the decarbonisation of Drax power station. The wood pellets – to be shipped to Liverpool from North America – are a by-product of the commercial forestry and saw-milling industry and will provide the Selby-based power station with a new, sustainable low carbon fuel source. In transitioning from coal to sustainable biomass Drax will reduce its CO2 footprint by some 12m tonnes per annum, the equivalent to removing 10% of the cars on the UK roads. All of the wood pellets will be sent to Drax by rail from Liverpool to Selby ensuring there is no impact on the local road network. The new biomass terminal, which includes a new rail loading facility and storage capacity for 100,000 tonnes, will be built by GRAHAM Construction

K-FLEX recently took part in the 22nd International Congress on Sound and Vibration ( ICSV22.org ) held in Florence, 12th-16th July, 2015.  This conference is a world leading event in the field of sound and vibration and is an important networking opportunity for scientists and engineers working in this sector. The event was organized by the Acoustical Society of Italy (AIA) and the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV) and was attended by some 1,200 scientists, researchers and technicians from around the world, mainly from the European Union, United States, China and Japan. K-FLEX Research and Development Engineer, Dr Diego Molina, presented his scientific paper during the T09 "Sound Insulation Materials" session, of which the Chair was Prof. Jorge P.Arenas of the IIAV and the Acoustical Society of America. Together with Materiacustica and the University of Ferrara, K-FLEX demonstrated the development of a predictive model showing the performanc

One building in Central London is using solar thermal tubes not just to generate renewable energy but also to create a remarkable and eye-catching facade. In marked contrast to more typically discrete installations of renewable energy technology, architect Nick Baker chose to celebrate the inclusion of solar collectors in his Camden development by placing them on the front of the building. The striking five-storey residential building in Delancey Street features a commercial unit on the ground floor and 14 residential flats on the upper floors.  Sustainability is woven into the fabric, as well as the façade of the building, in order to achieve a Level 3 rating from The Code for Sustainable Homes. In all, there are 925 Kingspan Solar Varisol solar thermal evacuated tube collectors which hang in banks down the front and outer walls of the building, creating a unique and beautiful frontage which sits comfortably within a designated Conservation area. The specification for