Kingspan Insulated Panels wins Manufacturer of the Year

Kingspan Insulated Panels has won ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2016, the prestigious awards programme that recognises the businesses, NGOs and executives across the UK that are turning sustainability pledges into reality.

Explaining the award win, the judging panel said “In a highly competitive category, Kingspan Insulated Panels stood out for both its development of energy saving products and its rapid progress towards becoming a ‘Net Zero Energy’ company. The judges were particularly impressed by its commitment to renewable power, its zero waste sites, and its halving of carbon emissions inside five years.”

Kingspan’s Net-Zero Energy programme began in 2011 with a firm commitment to achieve net-zero energy across Kingspan’s operations by 2020. Kingspan Insulated Panels has reduced its carbon emissions by almost 50% since beginning this process. Furthermore, in 2014, over a third of the energy used by Kingspan Insulated Panels came from renewable sources, with carbon emissions from non-renewable electricity down 44%.

On the products side, the award win recognises Kingspan’s achievement in the development of ^IPNQuadCore – a groundbreaking new insulation core technology.

Commenting on the win, Phil Smith, Managing Director of Kingspan Insulated Panels UK & Ireland said:

“We’re delighted that our sustainability initiatives are being recognised through awards like this, especially in the context of so many other strong entries. But our ambition is that our Net-Zero Energy programme serves as a useful model for the construction industry, and the wider business community as a whole, to follow. By demonstrating that its possible to both reduce carbon emissions and improve the bottom line, we hope to press home the strong business case for sustainability. Making this case clearly could well be the single biggest driver for sustainability improvements the business community will ever see.”

You can learn more about Kingspan Insulated Panels’ Net-Zero Energy journey by visiting http://www.sustainability.kingspanpanels.com.

BusinessGreen Leaders Awards

Kingspan Insulated Panels has been shortlisted in the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ category at the upcoming 2016 BusinessGreen Leaders Awards, the prestigious awards programme that recognises the businesses, NGOs and executives across the UK that are turning sustainability pledges into reality.

Kingspan has been recognised for its Net-Zero Energy programme. The programme started in 2011 following a commitment to achieve net-zero energy across Kingspan’s operations by 2020, by using its own products and solutions to reduce carbon emissions while remaining profitable and productive.

Since the start of this initiative, Kingspan Insulated Panels has almost halved its carbon emissions across its global facilities. Performance in the UK has been particularly impressive, with a 57% reduction in emissions and over 34% of energy coming from renewable sources. Importantly, the efficiency measures undertaken across the Kingspan Group between 2013 and 2014 saved 15GWh of energy, which translated to an additional €1 million in profit.

Commenting on the shortlisting, Phil Smith, Managing Director of Kingspan Insulated Panels UK & Ireland said:

“We’re very proud that Kingspan’s own sustainability initiatives are being recognised through awards like this, but our real hope is that our Net-Zero Energy programme serves as a useful model for the wider construction industry to follow. We’re committed to making the business case for sustainability by demonstrating that its possible to both reduce carbon emissions and improve the bottom line.”

The awards ceremony will take place at The Brewery in central London on the evening of 6^th July, where winners of the 24 award categories will be announced.

Flying the Net-Zero Energy Flag at EUROCONSTRUCT

Written by Mel Courtney – General Manager, Kingspan Energy

At today’s excellent EUROCONSTRUCT event in Dublin, I was proud to talk about Kingspan’s Net-Zero Energy programme.

In 2011, we committed to achieving net-zero energy across our entire global operation by 2020, with an interim goal of 50% by 2016. The commitment is extraordinary in scale, encompassing operations in 85 countries, across four divisions.

Our Net-Zero Energy programme is an unambiguous and very public commitment from Kingspan to practise what we preach – using our own products and solutions to reduce carbon emissions while remaining profitable and productive. This has made success imperative to Kingspan, with potential for a direct impact on our reputation and the commercial viability of our solutions.

So far, the results have been impressive. Globally, Kingspan Insulated Panels has reduced its carbon emissions by almost 50% since 2011. In the UK, emissions were reduced from 12,883 tCO₂ in 2013 to just 5,719 tCO₂ in 2014 – a 57% saving. In 2014, over 34% of energy came from renewable sources, with carbon emissions from non-renewable electricity down 44%.

At a Kingspan Group level, the energy efficiency measures undertaken between 2013 and 2014 saved 15GWh throughout the year, adding circa €1 million to our net profit.

The construction industry has needed a model to follow for stepping up to the sustainability challenge and reduce the 36% of European carbon emissions associated with buildings. My intention at today’s event was to show how our Net-Zero Energy initiative proves the business case for sustainability, and helps Sustainability Directors persuade their own organisations to begin a similar Net-Zero journey.

The Unarguable Business Case for Improved Lighting in Warehouses

The unarguable business case for improved lighting in warehouses

Too many of the UK’s commercial properties are currently lit by low-quality, inefficient, costly lighting. When you consider that lighting makes up 43% of total electricity consumption in the Warehouse sector, it’s clear that the region stands to benefit enormously from a rethink on commercial lighting. We believe there are two compelling reasons, in terms of both an opportunity and a threat, for businesses to improve their lighting now and realise this benefit.

First, the carrot. Kingspan Insulated Panels recently conducted a study on the potential cost savings that better lighting systems could generate for UK businesses. The study showed that the adoption of improved lighting systems alone could result in a potential annual electricity cost saving for the Warehouse sector of £430m, with the average business lighting electricity cost falling from £25,583 to just £3,837.

So the opportunity to warehouse building owners and occupiers is enormous. Just by improving the way their properties are lit, they can benefit from drastically reduced electricity bills. That is not to mention the other associated benefits in terms of increased productivity and wellbeing of the building occupants, higher asset values, and lower carbon emissions.

That is why we launched Kingspan ZerO Energy Lighting, a bespoke solution that achieves the optimum balance of natural and artificial light in large buildings. At the heart of the ZerO Energy Lighting solution is a holistic approach, based on rigorous design principles, that utilises the best of lighting, building and energy technology to achieve unprecedented performance. It combines intelligent LED lighting with smart controls, and high-quality polycarbonate rooflight products to deliver a typical lighting electricity cost saving of 85%. We complete the solution with the addition of Kingspan Energy Rooftop Solar PV to deliver the remaining 15% cost saving, and ultimately, ZerO Energy Lighting. The combined solution, which brings together these technologies for the first time, has been shown to pay for itself within just 30 months – well within the return on investment threshold required for most businesses.

But, in terms of motivating change, there’s a stick too. From 2018 it will be mandatory for all buildings with an F or G EPC rating to be upgraded to a minimum of E. In fact, landlords will not be able to agree new tenancy agreements until this improvement is made. The ZerO Energy Lighting solution alone will improve a typical G grade building to a D grade, thereby protecting rental yields for property owners.

The business case for improved lighting is unarguable. Through the launch of Kingspan ZerO Energy Lighting, we are helping building owners and occupiers to create better, brighter and more cost-effective buildings.

 

IPN-QuadCore: Environmental Credentials

 

IPN-QuadCore: Environmental Credentials

IPN-QuadCore is the bespoke new hybrid insulation technology from Kingspan Insulated Panels. Launched in August 2015, IPN-QuadCore represents a significant step change in insulated panel performance.

In this series, Divisional Building Technology Director Mark Harris tell some of the story behind IPN-QuadCore; how it works and what it means for buildings.

This post focuses on its environmental credentials, one of the four ‘quads’ referred to in the product name alongside thermal performance, fire safety and the 40-year guarantee.

What are the environmental benefits of using IPN-QuadCore?

The most obvious benefit is the long-term operational reduction in energy consumption. IPN-QuadCore creates buildings that are more thermally efficient and therefore reduce carbon emissions. This benefit has been independently verified, with IPN-QuadCore adding six valuable BREEAM points to a building, and earning credits under other green building assessment methods too.

At this point it’s worth mentioning the comprehensive 40-year guarantee that comes with each IPN-QuadCore panel. This covers both the structure and the performance of the panel, meaning it should perform as-built with no degradation for the duration of its life – resulting in 40 years of energy saving.

There is also a more short-term benefit that results from the manufacturing process used to create IPN-QuadCore. Gram for gram, the insulation core material is used much more efficiently under the unique closed cell structure, while manufacturing waste is kept to a minimum.  It also does not contain any HFCs or halogenated flame retardants.

What happens to an IPN-QuadCore panel at the end of a building’s life?

The 40-year guarantee and superior fire performance hopefully mean that it’ll be a long time before we see any IPN-QuadCore building reach the end of its life!

When that time does come, there are two options. The first is reuse, with panels simply demounted and applied on other projects. This is something that already happens occasionally with our standard ECOsafe core panels.

Where reusing panels is not an option, they steel can be easily reclaimed, while the core material can be safely used in a waste to energy facility.

IPN-QuadCore: Fire Safety

IPN-QuadCore: Fire Safety

IPN-QuadCore is the bespoke new hybrid insulation technology from Kingspan Insulated Panels. Launched in August 2015, IPN-QuadCore represents a significant step change in insulated panel performance.

In this series, Divisional Building Technology Director Mark Harris tell some of the story behind IPN-QuadCore; how it works and what it means for buildings.

This post focuses on its fire performance, one of the four ‘quads’ referred to in the product name alongside thermal performance, environmental credentials and the 40-year guarantee.

What are the fire safety properties of IPN-QuadCore?

The most significant fire safety property of IPN-QuadCore is its low smoke propagation. It is the first closed cell insulation material to achieve FM 4882 certification for use in smoke-sensitive occupancies.

This means that IPN-QuadCore is suitable for food storage, manufacture and pharmaceutical applications where even small amounts of smoke can cause enormous and very expensive damage.

IPN-QuadCore also performs well in terms of fire resistance. Its structural stability means it can achieve fire safety standards across longer spans. This reduces the amount of steel supports required for a building, reducing construction costs.

What gives IPN-QuadCore this superior fire performance?

The exact process behind this improved performance is a closely-guarded secret of our new technology. IPN-QuadCore has been specifically engineered to deliver this enhanced performance. Viewing some of our ad-hoc fire tests gives an indication as to how some of this is achieved, as the surface of the insulation quickly chars to protect the interior of the material, but that’s all we can say for now.

IPN-QuadCore: Thermal Performance

IPN-QuadCore Thermal Performance

IPN-QuadCore is the bespoke new hybrid insulation technology from Kingspan Insulated Panels. Launched in August 2015, IPN-QuadCore represents a significant step change in insulated panel performance.

In this series, Divisional Building Technology Director Mark Harris tells some of the story behind IPN-QuadCore; how it works and what it means for buildings.

This post focuses on its thermal performance, one of the four ‘quads’ referred to in the product name alongside fire safety, environmental credentials and the 40-year guarantee.

How good a thermal insulator is IPN QuadCore?

IPN-QuadCore significantly outperforms most other insulation technology on the market. It achieves an industry-leading lambda value of just 0.018W/mK, confirmed in independent

tests by the University of Salford. This means that IPN-QuadCore performs 20% better than the typical PUR core commonly used in panel construction, and 10% better than our existing ECOsafe core.

What gives IPN-QuadCore this enhanced thermal performance?

IPN-QuadCore has a significantly different cell structure to previous insulation core materials. Simply put, our proprietary manufacturing process allows us to create smaller cells than are usually found in other closed cell materials. At 100µm, the cell diameter is approximately half that of a typical PUR insulation core. This allows us to pack them more efficiently within the core, creating more thermal barriers across the same volume.

Crucially, all of this is done without adding any extra weight – the density is approximately the same as our standard ECOsafe material, aided in part by our ultra-efficient manufacturing process that reduces waste.

The polymer matrix within IPN-QuadCore is also different to previous products, giving rise to a different colour (grey as opposed to yellow) and texture.

Environmental Credentials

Once upon a time, strong environmental ratings for a building were considered nice-to-haves – the sole preserve of clients with big budgets and architects with equally big reputations. But changing trends in environmental-friendly building technology, coupled with a strong business case for sustainability, have effected a market shift that is pushing the environment up the agenda like never before.

Even discounting the effect of tightening building and energy regulations, the increasing prevalence of building assessment methodology ratings in the property market has been enough to drive this change.

More and more stakeholders are viewing BREEAM and LEED accreditation as fundamental attributes in their buildings, as vital as location, floor space and cost. The traditional view was that these certifications increased the kerb appeal of premises – helping to seal the deal when all the other boxes were ticked. But increasingly, the market is recognising the financial and reputational gains associated with better buildings; changing its demands to suit.

So how will the industry respond to sate the market’s desire for better buildings? First, we need to define a truly environmentally-friendly building. Broadly speaking, it is one that will have a minimal impact on its surrounding environment and the wider world right through from breaking ground to breaking down.

This means a building that reduces operational energy consumption to a minimum, built using products that are manufactured using minimum-waste technology, that last for the duration of a building’s desired life, and that can be readily recycled when demolished.

IPN-QuadCore meets all of these needs. Through its superior thermal performance, it can significantly reduce energy consumption, while its fire certificate and ultra-long structural and performance guarantee ensures it will perform as-built for 40 years. Finally, the unique microcell technology developed by Kingspan ensures the manufacturing process is as efficient as possible, and every IPN-QuadCore panel can be fully recycled at end-of-life to ensure no building waste ends up in landfill.

All of this not only means that IPN-QuadCore adds six valuable BREEAM points to a building. It also adds value, with a recent University of Maastricht study showing the cumulative impact on rental yields of environmentally-friendly buildings¹. This results in better buildings that work harder for owners and tenants, and a better environment for everyone.

¹ Supply, Demand and the Value of Green Buildings, Chegut et al, http://usj.sagepub.com/content/51/1/22.abstract

The Development of IPN-QuadCore

IPN-QuadCore is the bespoke new hybrid insulation technology from Kingspan Insulated Panels. Launched in August 2015, IPN-QuadCore represents a significant step change in insulated panel performance.

Here, Divisional Building Technology Director Mark Harris tells some of the story behind the development of IPN-QuadCore.

What’s the story behind IPN-QuadCore?

The IPN-QuadCore story began in 1995, when we first developed our polyisocyanurate (PIR) core technology for insulated panels. This core was the first to achieve approval from the UK Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) and FM Global – a step up from the previous polyurethane (PUR) system.

Since then, we have focused on continually developing our insulation core technology. For example, in 2004 we began working with a number of universities on projects to improve our standard PIR core. These academic studies informed a number of trials, and resulted in the 2006 launch of our ECOsafe insulation core. That product achieved superior thermal performance without the use of high global warming potential blowing agents.

Following on from this, we began working with a dedicated in-house polymer development department within Kingspan Insulated Panels. This resulted in further improvements to the thermal and fire performance of our polymer matrix, developments which eventually led to the creation of IPN-QuadCore.

Next came years of extensive testing – it takes a long time to gain approval to use new materials in construction. There were lots of manufacturing trials, and much work behind the scenes to obtain the best possible third party approval, especially for fire performance.

Will IPN-QuadCore be used in every panel product from Kingspan Insulated Panels?

Eventually, yes. For the time being, IPN-QuadCore is exclusively available in our coldstore panel range, where the reception has been very positive. We have plans to launch it in other Kingspan Insulated Panels ranges over the coming year, with a view to eventually rolling it out as our main core material if customer uptake demands it.

Talkin’ bout a Revolution

As the Tracy Chapman song goes, finally the tables are starting to turn. The ‘Rethinking Lighting Design’ panel discussion at Friday’s LEAF event suggests the lighting revolution has already started.

Together with my fellow panellists Mark Rides of BDP and Kristofer Karlsson of Buro Happold Engineering – and the attending audience of leading architects, contractors, engineers and consultants – we covered a wide range of topics that all pointed to a major shift in the lighting industry. The out-dated, inefficient, and disconnected approach to lighting commercial buildings is being replaced with a more holistic perspective that has potential to deliver huge benefits to building owners and occupiers.