Product review: the increasing need to reduce energy consumed by buildings has led to a greater emphasis on insulation. But care is needed when selecting insulation productions because of the complex nature of their environmental characteristics
Article Abstract:
Buildings account for nearly half the energy consumed in the UK and most of the energy used is produced by pollution forming fossil fuels. It is important therefore to reduce the energy demands of buildings through increased insulation of the external envelope. Insulation should not contain CFCs and HFCs and the material should be readily available and recyclable. Foam plastic insulation provides a high insulation level but is created from fossil fuels. Fiberglass or mineral wool insulation are produced from readily available materials, but boron, used as a fire protector, is becoming rare. Cellulose-based products are made mostly with recycled materials, but need to be treated with flame and fungicide retardants. Radiant barriers reflect heat or cold, and their use is restricted to foil backed insulation in the UK.
Publication Name: Architects' Journal
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0003-8466
Year: 1997
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A breath of warm air: Dynamic insulation - insulation that acts as a heat exchanger - is part of the McLaren leisure centre at Callander, Scotland
Article Abstract:
Gaia Architects and MCM Architects designed the McLaren Community Leisure Centre at Callander in Scotland. The building is the first in the UK to incorporate dynamic insulation, a radical form of breathing construction. Increasingly buildings have been sealed to control air leakage and reduce heat loss, but this leads to condensation and an increased dependence on mechanical methods of controlling air quality and moisture. Dynamic insulation is air-permeable where heat loss is reclaimed by air drawn into the building via the insulation, with the building fabric acting as a counter-flow heat exchanger.
Publication Name: Architects' Journal
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0003-8466
Year: 1999
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Exploiting the fabric: dynamic insulation, in which the whole fabric acts as a heat exchanger, can cut energy use and improve ventilation of small buildings
Article Abstract:
Dynamic insulation is where the entire fabric of a building acts as a heat exchanger. Ventilation air is drawn through a porous insulation material rather than through windows and doors, and it leaves by way of a fan/heat exchange system. The concept has been investigated in Canada, Scandinavia and Japan, and a dynamically insulated house was built in Aberdeen in 1995. The DoE has provided funding to Cambridge Architectural Research, to look at dynamic insulation under British conditions.
Publication Name: Architects' Journal
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0003-8466
Year: 1997
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