Gloucestershire homes stay out of the cold…

A specialist offering by the SIG360 technical centre has helped a housing development overcome a thermal product shortage, without compromising on its energy performance.

The team at SIG360, which offers energy efficiency guidance for new and retrofit projects, provided assistance to the six-property project, located in Woodford, Gloucestershire.

Having been appointed by construction company Bath Design and Build, the SIG360 technical centre was tasked with finding a solution to replace the shortage of lightweight concrete blocks to the development, which consists of five new-build dwellings and one refurbishment project.

Chosen for their lower thermal conductivity, the lightweight concrete blocks allow a building to achieve the U-Values required under Building Regulations without having to increase wall cavity width.

To ensure the development would still achieve the same thermal performance, as well as meeting Approved Document Part L of the Building Regulations, SIG360 conducted U-Value and SAP calculations. Based on their results, SIG360 was able to specify the most appropriate products.

SIG360 recommended Recticel’s Eurowall 140mm cavity wall insulation. By using Recticel’s thermal bridging detail – a measurement of heat loss through gaps in a building’s insulation envelope, commonly found at junctions between walls and floors – the development’s dwellings achieved the same SAP rating with standard concrete blocks and insulations, as would have been achieved by using the lightweight concrete blocks and insulation.

Speaking on the project, Fermeela Nayyar, business development manager at the SIG360 technical centre, said: “The industry-wide shortage of these lightweight concrete blocks has meant that developers are struggling to find adequate products that would still provide the same thermal results.

“By working with developers on a case-by-case basis, we’re able to deliver impartial advice on the most suitable energy efficiency products, providing assurance that their projects will still achieve the same SAP rating, as part of meeting the required Part L of the Building Regulations. We were also able to ensure that the cavity wall width didn’t increase following our recommendation, which was a crucial part of this project.”

Kevin Bright, site manager at Bath Design and Build, said: “Having worked with SIG360 previously, we were aware of the benefits they can bring to a project. The breadth of their product offering meant that they were able to recommend a cavity wall insulation that would provide the same thermal performance as the original specification which included the use of lightweight concrete blocks.

“By providing us with U-Value and SAP calculations at no additional costs, it also meant that we didn’t need to employ an independent energy consultant, helping us to keep costs to a minimum.”