This can be achieved through the following elements:
bioclimatic architecture: shape and orientation of the building, solar protections, passive solar systems
high performing building envelope: thorough insulation, high performing glazing and windows, air-sealed construction, avoidance of thermal bridges
high performance controlled ventilation: mechanical insulation, heat recovery
Only when the building has been designed to minimise the energy loss, it makes sense to start looking at the energy source (including renewable energy) and at the heating and cooling equipments.
Very low energy buildings are designed to provide a significantly higher standard of energy efficiency than the minimum required by national Building Regulations. They are very often designed without traditional heating systems and without active cooling. They result in a saving of energy consumption of 70 to 90% compared to the existing building stock. They all require high performing building envelops to reduce the energy needs for heating and cooling.
Insulation is necessary to reduce energy consumption, sound pollution and improve the comfort and quality of life in new or existing buildings regardless of the construction system.
By reducing heat wastage and minimises energy consumption (demand for heating /cooling); the consumption bill and pollution reduces by up to 80%. Insulation fights global warming as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps to protect the environment.
Winter and summer comfort in your home depends on maintaining a good inside temperature regardless of the season and this is aided by thermal insulation.
Thermal bridges are junctions where insulation is not continuous and causes heat loss. If the house is not well insulated (thermal bridges) it impacts on the energy loss percentage.
Mineral wool products including Glasswool products have been extensively studied with more than 2 500 scientific publications which support the decision of the most recognized experts that mineral wool fibres are safe to manufacture, install and live with. This sound science has been recognised by Health authorities at International, EU and national level and translated into rules and regulations, where mineral wool fibres are not classified as hazardous.
Superficial and temporary itching of the skin may occur after handling Glasswool. It is mechanical and not chemical and causes no allergy. It disappears once rinsed with water.
The greenhouse effect is the process by which the atmosphere traps some of the sun’s energy, warming the Earth and moderating our climate. A human-driven increase in ‘greenhouse gases’ has enhanced this effect artificially. These greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels and through deforestation, methane, released from agriculture, animals and landfill sites, and nitrous oxide, resulting from agricultural production plus a variety of industrial chemicals.
Recognising the threats linked to climate change, the signatories to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The Protocol finally entered into force in early 2005 and its 165 member countries meet twice annually to negotiate further refinement and development of the agreement. Only one major industrialised nation, the United States, has not ratified Kyoto.
The lambda value (thermal conductivity) of an insulation material is a measure of its ability to prevent the passage of heat at a particular thickness, in defined conditions.
As the lambda value decreases, the thermal performance of the material increases. With new system designs, having a product with a lower lambda value allows the designer to make use of a thinner product which will yield the same results and save time on installation and encapsulation.
