News analysis with BESA
National insulation programme is ‘lowest hanging fruit’
Insulating hundreds of miles of pipework in commercial and industrial buildings would give an immediate boost to the UK’s Net Zero ambitions and dramatically cut running costs, according to two leading engineering bodies.
T
he Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the Thermal Insulation Contractors’ Association (TICA) described
uninsulated or poorly insulated pipework as the “lowest of low hanging fruit” among the potential building retrofi t measures that could drive energy and carbon savings. The two trade bodies also supported a proposal
from the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) for £64bn of government investment over the next 10 years in a retrofi t programme for homes, offi ces and public spaces. UKGBC research showed that this level of funding would create around 140,000 skilled jobs, avoid the need for £60bn in electricity grid upgrade costs, and save the NHS £22bn by improving the health and wellbeing of building occupants. “The new government has ambitious plans
for improving the performance of the UK’s built environment but there are some big holes in its strategy,” said BESA technical adviser Keegan Farrelly. “A concerted eff ort to address some of the most basic retrofi t actions such as insulating the hundreds of miles of uninsulated or badly insulated pipework in our commercial and industrial buildings would deliver a massive and rapid return on investment.” Research carried out by the European Industrial Insulation Foundation (EiiF) found that the UK could save the equivalent of the energy use of 863,000 homes or 1.7 million cars simply by insulating the existing pipework in industrial facilities. This would also lead to an annual saving of almost 3.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
Standard
The launch of a new technical standard for insulation energy effi ciency: BS EN 17956:2024 ‘Energy effi ciency classes for technical insulation systems. Calculation method and applications’ could also make a huge diff erence, according to TICA.
The standard, which was introduced in June,
provides a uniform basis for insulating pipework systems with a focus on effi cient use of resources. It is based on a classifi cation method that uses the recognised A-G energy rating model. The EiiF has already aligned its TIPCHECK (Technical Insulation Performance Check) system with the new standard which has helped thousands of European clients reduce their carbon and energy costs. “Trying to get either government or industry to
recognise the gaping hole that exists in our national net zero strategy deployment, due to uninsulated or badly insulated pipework, is a major challenge,” said TICA technical director, Chris Ridge. “Anything that makes the specifi cation of energy
saving thermal insulation easier to understand and enact for clients is most welcome. The UK thermal insulation market will need to go through a period of adaptation before the benefi ts of the standard can be deployed at a national scale, but the conversations with policy makers must start now.” Ridge added that TICA was preparing the industry
to take its place as a “key enabler of commercial and industrial decarbonisation” with its national training centre in Darlington training apprentices in the fundamentals of thermal imaging to help them understand the importance of pipe insulation as a means of reducing energy losses. BESA said that it was keen “to work more closely with our partners at TICA to ensure pipework insulation forms a central part of a wider initiative for retrofi tting thousands of buildings around the country to reduce operating costs and meet our net zero goals”.
BESA training aims to inspire future generations
BESA has launched a training programme to help building services fi rms work more closely with schools and inspire future generations of building services engineers.
T
he BESA School Engagement and Engineering Discovery (SEED) Programme is fully funded by the Association and was developed by the schools engagement specialists Built Environment Skills in Schools (BESS) which has worked with more than 4,000 schools across the UK. The 12-week programme is designed to give engineers and business owners the skills and knowledge they need to engage eff ectively with their local schools and promote career opportunities in the building services industry. The training will be delivered in three tranches. Eight places were available in the September intake and another eight are available in January 2025 . A third cohort will be setting out on their engagement journey in April. BESA members regularly cite long-term skills shortages as the biggest challenge to their businesses and this new fully funded scheme is part of the Association’s response. Members will now have the chance to work with experienced educators to gain insights into engaging the interest of school children and inspiring them to want to work in a sector that can make a huge diff erence to major social issues like climate change, air quality, and health & wellbeing. As well as helping to shape a future generation of engineers and improve the fl ow of skilled workers into the sector, this exercise can also have major benefi ts for existing staff who gain valuable communication and presentation skills – not to mention improved confi dence. “This is a groundbreaking exercise for our industry and an opportunity not to be missed,” said BESA’s head of skills & policy Stuart Rattray. “Early adopters can demonstrate their commitment to education and community involvement which will boost their reputation.
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November 2024
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