SHOW PREVIEW: NATURAL STONE SHOW 6 - 8 June
Natural Stone Show ExCeL, London
Cut your energy bills by building with stone
I
f you are building your own home, you probably want to include natural stone. Whether it is limestone for your oors, granite for your worktops, marble in the bathroom, sandstone on the patio or slate on the roof, the chances are there will be natural stone somewhere. You have probably chosen it because
there is nothing that compares to natural stone when it comes to aesthetics. The fact that it is resilient and many consider that it even improves with age as it develops a natural patina is also probably part of its attraction.
But did you know it can also help
reduce the carbon footprint of your home? And that is becoming increasingly important, with the Future Homes Standard (FHS) now only two years away. The FHS will require all new homes to be built without gas central heating and to deliver a 75-80% reduction in carbon emissions compared with the current standards.
The idea is to build homes that will contribute less to global warming, both from the build itself and from the building’s energy consumption in use. Stone can help with both.
Natural Stone is simply dug out of the
ground as a product ready to be sawn, shaped and polished. There is none of the high energy heating required for the production of materials such as steel and cement, where the heat is still usually produced by burning fuels that put a lot of CO2
into the atmosphere. It is true the machines for cutting and WHEN & WHERE
The Natural Stone Show will run from 6 - 8 June at ExCeL, London. Book your tickets now by visiting
www.stoneshow.co.uk
34
www.sbhonline.co.uk mar/apr 2023
tonne of freight delivered is low. In use, the thermal mass of stone makes an ideal accompaniment to under oor or behind tiling heating to make the most of energy from heat pumps. nder oor heating radiates heat into a room in the same way the sun does, so a comfortable temperature can be achieved with half the heating temperature of wall mounted radiators (which, in spite of their name, do not actually radiate much heat but rather heat a room primarily via convection). With global warming, as much of a problem in the future will be cooling a
shaping stone use electricity, but the electricity is increasingly likely to be renewable, much of it already being produced by photovoltaic cells on the roofs of the stone industry’s factories. And although stone does come to the UK from all over the world, it is transported in huge container ships, so the CO2
per
building, and here again, the thermal mass of stone has its benefi ts by helping to keep spaces cool. Not all stones are the same, though, and choosing the right stone for any particular use is as important as choosing the right product for any other part of your build. To get a handle on stone, there is no quicker or easier way than by visiting the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL. There you will be able to talk to
producers and suppliers of natural stone, and if you want to dig a bit deeper, the associated seminar programme will offer more in-depth discussions. You can plan your visit to the show (to see which seminar sessions might be of interest to you) by visiting the website,
www.stoneshow.co.uk. The exhibitors are listed there, as well as the seminar programme. If you prefer man-made quartz,
sintered stone or porcelains, you can visit the Hard Surfaces exhibition which is also at co-located at ExCeL in conjunction with the Stone Show. Stone producers are also working
towards net zero by reducing their carbon footprints, such as by using renewable electricity and incorporating recycled materials in their surfaces. The show even includes some incredible new surfaces in its Material District – unlikely materials, some still in experimental stages, in a feature that isitors will fi nd fascinating to explore.
Article supplied by Natural Stone Show
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
