I can scarcely believe it but Ecobuild has somehow managed to get even bigger in 2010. For those who remember its modest beginnings barely five years ago when there could have been no more than a few dozen exhibitors in the lobby at the QEII conference centre, its exponential growth is testament to the rise in interest in all things ‘sustainable’ in the ensuing years – or more likely to the ability of the mainstream construction industry to rebrand itself in a greener shade.
It is now utterly implausible to expect to visit for a day to take in a seminar or two, pick up some interesting product literature, catch a debate in the main arena and return home feeling that you had the event covered. The choice is overwhelming and the feeling you are left with is one of having only scraped the surface. There is something about the quirky footprint of Earls Court though that gives the event some of its character, coupled with the proximity of good tube links and local hostelries of course, and you wonder how it will fare next year in the regimented corporate order of ExCel, where presumably it aims to get even bigger? Remember Think anyone?
Despite its scale though, it is still remarkable how many people you can bump into when crossing between events and thanks to Twitter, it is now even possible to co-ordinate your congregations. The fact that it draws so many visitors and speakers from all over the country makes it a unique networking opportunity not to be missed. Its also interesting how different perceptions of the exhibition can be formed depending on the observer – some people bemoaned the fact that it was all solar products this year whilst another could only see external insulation solutions wherever they went! All of which is really a precursor as to why it is so hard to find new products to blog about – you can only ever hope to capture a snapshot of what is available.
My two interests at Ecobuild this year are Passivhaus and retrofit so to narrow my search I stuck to these themes in my selections. I was also keen to avoid the big companies so I was delighted to come across Passive Windows, a company based in Orpington, Kent manufacturing bespoke, FSC-certified timber windows with a typical Uw of 0.8 W/m²K, including a unique ‘open out’ range in line with UK preferences.
Although not yet Passivhaus Institute accredited, these windows offer exceptional thermal performance through the combination of a thermally broken timber frame, via a polyurethane core, and low-e, argon-filled triple glazing with warm edge spacers. Most importantly though, they are fabricated within the M25 meaning they should be less prone to lead-in time and cost issues than their continentally shipped counterparts. Additionally, they will match the same high thermal performance in their entrance and sliding/folding door ranges. The unusual ‘parallel open out’ window also seems quite ingenious where security might be a concern when summer ventilating.
On the fabric side, I got my first chance to see the Energyflo dynamic cell product up close, having read about it on this website previously, among other sources.
The company behind this product, ECT, has developed and patented a range of building insulation products that aim to transform the building envelope into both a heat exchanger and source of fresh ventilation air. It comprises a perforated and hollow polystyrene cell, a bit like an ICF block, which sits in a cavity or between studs to form in effect an insulated chimney through which air is continuously drawn via a low watt fan at the top of the wall. The idea is that any heat lost into the cavity is returned to the building via positive input ventilation or even heat recovery ventilation. The attractive claim of achieving U-values of around 0.1W/m²K or less with an insulation thickness of only 140mm arouses both interest and suspicion but Energflo have had the performance verified by the National Physics Laboratory. The proof is in the pudding however and it will be interesting to see some real data from the first installations to back up the argument.
There is a lot to interest the retrofiterati at Ecobuild for this year including a number of new products to suit internal wall insulation situations such as Knauf’s new Ecostud/Earthwool combo or pro Clima’s Calsitherm board. Many people argue that we should leave difficult to treat properties that need IWI until we have completed the swathe of EWI installations needed but when presented with the opportunity to retrofit stock that has architectural or heritage value it is great to know that there are solutions out there. One that caught my eye though was Edenbloc rigid insulation from Second Nature.
I remember enquiring about this product nearly four years ago at an AECB conference and was surprised to get a phone call earlier this year announcing that it was now available. Launched at Ecobuild, it is a rigid, paper-backed insulation made from wool and recycled waste (mainly from the carpet industry) that achieves a thermal conductivity of 0.035 W/mK – impressive for a natural insulation. It has a very low carbon footprint and locks up twice its weight in CO². It can be delivered in sizes up to 350mm thick, although it would be advisable to layer up with smaller thicknesses to avoid thermal bypass if performance at this level is sought. It is supplied with a vapour control layer and is pinned to the existing wall with battens – Pro Clima-type membranes can be substituted where you are after fully breathable construction. At £82 for a pack covering 2m² at 100mm thickness it’s not as expensive as first imagined.
Heat recovery ventilation is often disruptive to retrofit so it was great to discover the energiVent® Impact single room heat recovery unit for use in commercial application such as pubs and restaurants.
Now that these sorts of building are no longer filled with smoke there is a reduced need to ventilate so highly meaning that there are lots of overpowered extract fans sitting in walls across the country. This unit is designed to be retrofitted into the same space as the original fans but can recover around 70% of the heat from the outgoing air to pre-warm a return fresh air supply. As with all their products, Envirovent really consider the practicalities of durability, maintenance and life-cycle, removing the need for any parts to go to landfill – which is nice.
And finally, I have to give a plug (no pun intended) to our friends at Wattbox with whom we have achieved a degree of success in the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future competition. The Wattbox is a new heating controller designed to reduce energy consumption in residential buildings – it controls both central and water heating, reducing consumption by automatically monitoring and learning occupant behaviour and preferences. It has been under test and development for 4 years but is now ready for the wider-scale field trials that the TSB competition is funding. As well as providing a whole house control solution, it can also provide a whole house data acquisition solution, invaluable for getting retrofit feedback. It has a really simple interface with only two switches to control for internal temperature and one other for more hot water. No need to set programmers and such like - it learns all that for you.
The trials, which were carried out on a domestic microCHP unit suggested that the Wattbox could save around 12-15% energy in the winter months and 30% of hot water energy use in the summer months. Every time we have asked Wattbox if their unit can control a new appliance or measure a new set of data the response has been positive and we really hope to play a part in helping them get established.
I will finish with a quick mention for an organisation present for the first time at Ecobuild this year Passivhaus Buildings, based on the AECB stand. Passivhaus Buildings is the successor to AECB Carbonlite and aims to be a centre of excellence for information, knowledge and skills about low energy, low carbon buildings. It intends to develop accreditation schemes for individuals, organisations, products and services delivering low energy or passivhaus developments helping to generate flagship schemes. Find out more at www.passivhausbuildings.org.
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