product innovations: permarock
On the up with Ecopoints
PermaRock external wall insulation systems become a UK first to achieve Ecopoints rating
As a leading innovator in exter- nal wall insulation systems, PermaRock has become one of the first External Wall Insulation (EWI) system designer to achieve an Ecopoints rating.
I
n recent years there has been an increasing interest on the part of developers and building designers to understand more about the sus- tainability of building materials and the environmental impacts of prod- ucts and materials utilised in the built environment.
Using methodology developed by the BRE (Building Research Establish- ment) and BERR (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regula- tory Reform), PermaRock has carried out whole life cycle assessments (LCA) on two of its key insulated render systems. The LCA measures the environmental impacts of the systems during their economic life, from the extraction of the raw mate- rials and components to the disposal of the product at the end of a 60 year life cycle (i.e. cradle to grave). The environmental impact is de- termined by 12 categories, including Climate Change, Acid Depletion, Ozone Depletion, Pollution to Air, Pollution to Water, Mineral Extrac- tion and Waste Disposal. The data obtained from the LCA was then analysed and weighted,
using the BRE methodologies, and an Ecopoints rating for each system was established.
Ecopoints
To improve the usefulness of the en- vironmental data and make it easier to understand, the BRE developed the Ecopoints rating – a method of ranking and scoring different envi- ronmental impacts.
The lower the Ecopoints score, the lower the environmental impact. As a benchmark, it has been deter- mined that 100 Ecopoints represents the impact of one UK citizen on the environment for one year. The results achieved by Per- maRock are very impressive. Ecopoints scores of 0.10 per m2 and 0.15 per m2
on PermaRock’s
Mineral Fibre External Wall Insula- tion System and Phenolic External Wall Insulation Systems respective- ly were achieved. Such extremely low Ecopoints
scores reflect the hard work that PermaRock has put in to environ- mentally engineering its products, including reducing the energy costs associated with sourcing and trans- porting raw materials, manufacturing the products them- selves, and delivering the products to construction sites throughout the UK. Significantly, PermaRock’s drive towards the incorporation of recy-
cled content into its products has also had a beneficial impact on the Ecopoints score. To put the results into context, assessments have also been made on other construction products: For example a traditional brick cavity wall construction achieves a score of 0.48 per m².
How can Environmental Profiling be used?
Environmental Profiling information is used in environmental impact esti- mation tools such as Envest 2 and allows for both environmental and financial tradeoffs to be made in the design process, allowing the client to optimise the concept of best val- ue according to their own priorities. Results are also used in the
Green Guide to Specification and to complete BREEAM assess- ments and Code for Sustainable Homes calculations. At its simplest level, the
profiling method can assess the impact of a single building prod- uct. However, to make valid comparisons, designers and spec- ifiers need information about a building element, such as a wall. A building element is likely to be made up of several products. For ex- ample, the external envelope of a building could be constructed using a ‘single leaf’ approach with block-
work and external wall insulation, or using traditional cavity wall con- struction. The Environmental Profile takes this into account by adding together the contribution of the component parts, allowing compari- son between one construction element and another. The process enables manufactur- ers to demonstrate the credibility of their products and also help designers and specifiers identify materials that will best fulfil a sustainable brief. The use of low impacting products, such as Per- maRock’s external wall insulation systems, can allow the designer more flexibility in terms of overall product/material specification of a building, allowing to off-set high impacting products with lower
rated materials in other areas.
For further information, telephone PermaRock on 01509 262924, email
info@permarock.com or visit
www.permarock.com
Architects Choice 31
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