Introduction

There can be no doubt that global weather patterns are changing dramatically.

We have seen earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, storms and floods in France, Italy, Greece and the UK as well as many other countries around the world. The UK has also experienced the coldest winter in 100 years and it won’t stop there. We all need to take responsibility for our CO₂ emissions and with stricter Government legislation coming into place changes in attitude and requirements are now being enforced. Click here to read on.

Reducing CO₂ with Part L

Governments around the world are tasked to reduce global CO₂ emissions and these targets are extremely challenging.

Around 52% of the UK’s CO₂ emissions from energy consumption arises from the way in which our 25 million buildings are built, lit, heated and used; the construction industry need to take responsibility for this and action must be taken to considerably reduce the effect that buildings are having on the planet. Even comparatively minor changes in the energy performance and the way we use each building would have a significant effect in reducing energy consumption, and hence, carbon emissions. The Government are doing their part to enforce a change. Click here to read on.

U-values

Is it possible to enhance the thermal performance of the roof from 0.25W/m²K to 0.15W/m²K, simply be increasing the depth of insulant?

The cost of just increasing insulation is no more than you would expect and it is very easy to deliver, however, the overall improvement on energy savings for a typical industrial or commercial building is as little as 4% but the cost in doing so is significantly increased. Click here to read on.

Performance & Workmanship

New energy performance directives and revised regulations inevitably bring new design problems.

It has been a common complaint from roofing and cladding contractors that new systems have, with extra insulation, become bulky and heavy and as a result difficult to install correctly. Click here to read on.

Transportation

Over the last 2-3 years CA Group has focused on CO₂ emissions resulting from transport.

With up to 35 vehicles delivering throughout the country per day our CO₂ emissions were high and so were our transport costs. A total review was undertaken with our customers and new procedures were implemented. Click here to read on.

Lighting

A major source of energy consumption in any warehouse is lighting, which can account for up to 90% of total electricity consumption. Click here to read on.

Heating

The Part L buildings regulations have surprisingly little impact on the manufacturers of heating equipment. Click here to read on.

Carbon Neutrality

Together with Corus, and the Confidex Sustain^® initiative, we guarantee that we’ll offset all unavoidable carbon emissions for the whole cladding system, including fixings and insulation, throughout its entire life cycle, cradle to cradle, by investing in environmental projects worldwide. Click here to read on.

Photovoltaics (PV)

Feed in Tariffs (FiTS) introduced in the UK in April 2010 by Government aim to encourage us to generate our own electricity rather than drawing it from the National Grid. The tariffs set are generous and for the first time make the consideration of photovoltaic’s (PVs)a logical financial opportunity. Click here to read on.

SBEM (Simplified Building Energy Model)

The latest version of iSBEM will incorporate Transpired Solar Collectors (TSC’s). SolarWall^® is a TSC and is quite unique. It is capable of delivering up to 20% of a buildings energy requirement and with paybacks as low as 3 years, the savings are enormous in both terms of CO₂ and gas costs. Click here to read on.

End of Life

Transportation has to consider not only delivery requirements at the beginning of a project but also at disposal.

It is at this stage as legislation has toughened that building owner costs are recognised as punitive. The majority of systems supplied by CA Group are either reused ie. farm buildings etc, or sent back to the steel mill for recycling, the residue ie. insulation and fixings can either be reused as cavity wall insulation or sent to landfill at minimal cost. Click here to read on.

Dissemination Of The Issue And Solutions

As sustainability and recyclability become requirements within the UK construction industry.

CA Group provides clients and project teams the ability to consult product, and installation specialists within one company. Our products offer clients the fundamentals of cradle to cradle material recyclability; renewable technology in the form of SolarWall^® and EliosSolar PV which offer energy benefits and financial incentives now available through FiTS programmes; and a product delivery with a proven grounding in sustainable project delivery. Click here to read on.