Actis’ latest eBook explores the requirements of the Future Homes Standard
Meeting the Future Home Standard
CONTENTS
- SECTION 1: ACTIS PROFILE
- SECTION 2: PARTS L AND O, PAS 2035
- SECTION 2A: Part L – Updated Future Homes and Performance gap CPDs
- SECTION 2B: Part O – How to combat heat with Actis products
- SECTION 2C: PAS 2035
- SECTION 3: WHICH PRODUCTS WILL HELP SPECIFIERS MEET THE FUTURE HOMES STANDARD?
- SECTION 3A: Eolis info
- SECTION 3B: Eolis case study
- SECTION 3C: Hybrid info
- SECTION 3D: Hybrid case study
- SECTION 4: GREEN CREDENTIALS
1: How can Actis help construction professionals meet the Future Homes Standard?
Actis, founded in France in 1980, specialises in designing and manufacturing innovative insulation products and membranes and is the European market leader in the thin multifoil insulation sector. Its RIBA-approved CPD training modules and range of products are helping architects, specifiers and builders across the UK get closer to net zero.
2: PART L, PART O AND PAS 2035
2A: CPD training is aimed at enabling specifiers meet Part L and Part O obligations
The need to balance maximising thermal efficiency with ensuring homes don’t overheat is a tricky tightrope to walk.
Actis, whose products are designed to enable specifiers to comply with both Part L and Part O, has updated its two popular RIBA-approved CPDs to help construction professionals navigate the latest Building Regulations.
The two modules now also include additional information on thermal modelling, refurbishment options and examine key aspects of the current consultation on the Future Homes Standard.
Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards gives guidance on how to meet energy efficiency targets, which see new build homes having to reduce carbon emissions by 31% over previous levels, while Addressing the Performance Gap with Reflective Insulation looks at how to achieve as-built performance.
The updated versions add information on thermal modelling PSI values to calculate heat loss at junctions, the provision of construction details at both design and as built stage, the replacement of SAP methodology with the proposed Home Energy Model (HEM) to calculate energy efficiency, and the addition of information on the benefits of new reflective insulation technologies.
RIBA-approved CPDs are worth double the points of a standard CPD, with 76% of RIBA members choosing training that has been specifically approved by the professional body.
Jason Docherty, one of the Actis regional specification managers who regularly delivers the CPDs, explained: “These updated versions give further insight into implementing more stringent thermal efficiency standards and the steps towards achieving the Future Homes Standard.”
Co-author Actis UK and Ireland technical director Thomas Wiedmer, himself an architect, added: “Addressing the performance gap with reflective insulation, which we initially created a decade ago to help construction professionals uncover ways to combat thermal bridging and achieve optimal energy efficiency, has been augmented with additional information about thermal modelling as well as about new reflective insulation technologies, products which are particularly useful in reducing thermal transmission of elements as well as construction details and airtightness. An additional benefit is seen in roof refurbishment scenarios.”
For more information or to book a CPD session contact solutions@insulation-actis.com
2B: Thermal efficiency is vital – but so is preventing overheating: How to comply with Part O
Part O of the Building Regulations obliges architects to limit unwanted solar gains and provide a way to remove heat from residential dwellings.
And, counterintuitively, using the right sort of insulation can play an important role in ensuring homes stay cool, enabling them to remain compliant.
While some insulation products can make homes unbearably hot in the summer, reflective alternatives can also keep a home cool – helping protect the health and comfort of the occupants.
Actis’ two-in-one Eolis HC and its Hybrid range have been specifically designed to help buildings stay cool, as well as warm, with the reflective films in Eolis HC reflecting 95% of infrared radiation.
Actis Hybrid products and its new Eolis HC play a big role in helping homes avoid overheating.
2C: A holistic approach to retrofitting for thermal efficiency- let’s look at PAS2035
A specification championing a whole house approach to retrofitting is an important step in the battle to improving the thermal efficiency of Britain’s aged housing stock.
PAS 2035:2019 is particularly important as more than 25% of the UK’s houses are more than 100 years old.
It is a guide for all government-supported projects, including those under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), but it can be used on a voluntary basis for private homes outside these schemes.
Architect and Actis technical director Thomas Wiedmer explained: “The standard champions a matrix approach in which each individual measure is examined in the context of the whole house. This is because one action might have unintended consequences elsewhere in the property. It is important to look at each case on an individual basis.
“Combined with Part L, which imposes more stringent energy efficiency targets, PAS 2035 provides a good framework for reaching carbon emission goals.
“One of the unintended consequences which could occur if not looking at the house in its entirety is the appearance of moisture or condensation.
“For example, while on the surface it may seem sensible to insulate all external walls to the best possible U-value, this could have unintended consequences elsewhere. Where the ceiling joists meet the walls, in some scenarios, can create a weak thermal bridge. This might lead to moisture build-up and mould growth so it may, counterintuitively, be better to use less rather than more insulation.
“PAS 2035 acknowledges that retrofit projects often go wrong because of poor attention to the corners, junctions and edges of building elements (where insulation and air barriers should be continuous) and the interfaces between the building fabric, the building services and the occupants. “The matrix approach will also highlight, for example, if a revised ventilation strategy needs to be in place when an airtight envelope is created, to avoid problems with condensation and mould.”
3: Which products will help specifiers meet the Future Homes Standard?
3A: Eolis HC- An innovative thin, speedy and thermally effective two-in-one reflective insulation
Actis’ Eolis HC, a two-in-one reflective insulation with an integrated vapour barrier, enables builders and roofers to reduce the number of steps required to achieve an impressive U-value as well as airtightness in roofs.
The revolutionary Triplex technology at its core means it is especially useful for those dealing with shallow rafters where headroom is at a premium.
Part of the reason for this, in addition to the thinness of the product, the bulk of whose insulating property lies in its air gaps, is because it doesn’t require the usual 25mm air gap to avoid condensation – at least for most locations throughout the UK.
For the regulatory details about this, click here!
Using Eolis HC instead of PIR board means there’s no need to cut insulation between each rafter – making the process cleaner, easier and quicker.
Instead, installers can just lay the product, like a blanket, across the rafters on the inside (warm side) of the building, sealing each section to the next with an integrated self-adhesive lap.
Time trials show that when insulating a roof, installation time using BBA-certificated Eolis HC is at least twice as quick as insulating between rafters with PIR board.
The easiest way to learn how to install new Eolis HC is to watch one of the helpful Actis how to step-by-step videos. As well as an overview showing the start to finish process from unpacking to plasterboard, there are also mini, bitesize snippets showing how to cut the product, how to insert electrical wires and pipes through the Eolis and how to cut round doors and windows.
You can also watch a timed installation video demonstrating how quick and easy it is to install Eolis HC here.
Find out more here.
3B: Eolis HC in action- builder says it saves him ‘huge amounts of time’
Kent builder Alan Downes, who specialises in renovating individual properties, used Eolis HC on a recent full refurbishment of a semi-detached house, including a loft conversion to provide a fourth bedroom.
“It’s an excellent product to install and saves huge amounts of time,” he said. “I particularly like the large overlap in the surface of the product, which means the joints are much smoother for final plaster boarding. It also increases U-values to meet current regulations.
“The thing that makes Eolis especially good for loft conversions is its flexibility and the ease of installation, particularly over pitched roof angles, allowing for a really professional seal of insulation across the roof space. The Actis cutting tool is essential for this product due to its increased thickness, so I would recommend buying this to help with installation.
“As it’s especially good at time-saving and ease of installation I’ve already recommended it to other friends and builders. And I will be using the product again in the future.”
Alan was already impressed by products in Actis’ Hybrid range, which he has been using for the past five years, and says adding its Eolis HC to his armoury makes his job even more time-efficient.
3C: The Hybrid range: insulation, breather membrane and vapour control layers for roofs and walls
The Hybrid range consists of Hybris, whose unique honeycomb structure provides high thermal performance, an insulating vapour control layer, H Control Hybrid and two insulating breather membranes Boost R Hybrid and Boost R Hybrid Roof.
Hybris is Europe’s only C2C Certified® reflective insulation (on which more follows later in this e-book), while the Boost R Hybrid products also have the highest thermal resistance of any insulating breather membrane on the market.
All the products are free from irritating fibres, are lightweight, easy to carry, transport and store. Because they are flexible, thermal bridging is virtually eliminated and they all offer excellent thermal performance.
Additionally Boost R Hybrid Roof, a product specifically designed for use on roofs, is suitable for all wind zones (1 to 5) throughout the UK (unlike some membranes which are only suitable for zones 1 to 3). It has a built in self-adhesive strip which makes it easier to seal joints between adjacent sheets. And the dual function product, which acts as both insulation and breathable membrane, is waterproof and airtight.
To request a free product sample, book a CPD or for more information on any of our products/solutions please email solutions@insulation-actis.com including the reference PBC Ebook.
3D: The Hybrid range in action: timber frame specialist chooses Actis Hybrid for all its show homes
Swedish timber frame specialist Scandia-Hus, whose show homes are all insulated with Actis Hybrid products, is trumpeting the importance of incorporating high levels of insulation and adopting airtight principles to minimise heating bills.
The company has used the Actis Hybrid range on all four show properties at its Sussex HQ, with its latest property, a single storey 1,915 sq ft property The Lodge, fitted with HControl Hybrid, 105 mm Hybris and insulating breather membrane BoostR Hybrid in the walls to achieve a U-value of 0.14W/m2K. It uses HControl Hybrid in the flat roof.
Previous Scandia-Hus show homes have been insulated with a combination of insulating vapour control layer Actis HControl Hybrid and 155mm honeycomb design Actis Hybris in the pitched roof and HControl Hybrid and 105mm Hybris in the walls to achieve a U-value of 0.14 in the roof and 0.16 in the walls.
A thermal imaging survey carried out a few years ago on its first Actis Hybrid-insulated show home showed an impressive lack of thermal bridging, confirming that Hybrid was the right choice for the bulk of its ongoing projects.
Scandia-Hus MD Derek Dawson said: “All products have been designed to eliminate thermal bridging by helping to ensure an airtight envelope. The range can achieve the highest U-value requirements with a minimal thickness.
“High performance Hybrid panels also offer the benefit of being simple and quick to cut accurately, minimising wastage and reducing installation time, which can be up to 30% quicker than using alternative methods.
“By incorporating high levels of insulation and adopting airtight principles Scandia-Hus homes achieve exceptional thermal values, which is why we are renowned for our energy-saving properties.
“It is vitally important to make new homes as airtight as possible. Uncontrolled air migration (in or out) is a significant route for heat loss even in a well-insulated property.”
Open the eBook above to find out more.
