Energyflo are proud to announce that Dynamic Insulation has become the latest technology to be made available to energy performance assessors via Appendix Q of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP).
SAP is the UK National Calculation Methodology for creating Energy Performance Certificates for buildings and plays a vital role in the drive towards more energy-efficient homes.
SAP is revised approximately every four years and Appendix Q provides a route through which product performance data, which was not available at the time of the most recent revision, can be published and incorporated into the methodology.
Energyflo’s dynamic insulation system works by pre-heating air being drawn into the building using heat energy that would otherwise be lost to the building. The dynamic insulation system converts the building fabric into a heat exchanger, causing the temperature of the incoming air to be raised by as much as 8ºC.
In order for dynamic insulation to be accepted for inclusion in Appendix Q, Energyflo carried out tests according to a methodology defined by BRE, the government’s National Calculation Methodology contractor. Performance was tested by the National Physical Laboratory.
As a result, the exceptionally low U-values attributed to dynamic insulation have been verified and can now be calculated using the test data and calculation spreadsheet published in Appendix Q. “From now on, dynamic insulation can be included in SAP calculations and hence contribute to an Energy Performance Certificate” says Dr Andrew Peacock, Technical Director and co-founder of Energyflo.
Inclusion of dynamic insulation in the SAP opens the door to more widespread use of this new technology and trials are already in development with Stewart Milne, and Chorleywood Homes. To date Energyflo's dynamic insulation systems have been used in a wide variety of schemes across the UK and monitoring has established the efficiency of the system. For instance:
- A 38% space heating energy saving compared to conventionally insulated homes in a housing development for Kingdom Homes in Fife
- The fabric heat loss coefficient attributable to the external wall reduced from 55W/K to 39W/Kin a housing development for Orkney Housing Association
- The use of a rafter version of the technology resulted in a 16% reduction in space heating energy in a housing development for Cala Homes in Edinburgh
The inclusion of dynamic insulation in Appendix Q has been welcomed by Energyflo’s commercial partners who manufacture and distribute dynamic insulation products. Richard Lee, Sales and Marketing Director with Jablite, which manufactures Jablite Dynamic Cavity insulation says: “This is the news we’ve been waiting for. Acceptance in Appendix Q provides the official seal of approval and gives our customers the confidence to adopt the technology."
Proctor Group, which distributes Jablite Dynamic Frame to the timber-frame industry, is also excited by the news. “Construction is a conservative industry and you need to have very robust technical data to get any market acceptance”, commented Proctor’s technical director, Iain Fairnington. “Energyflo has done loads of research and the system has BBA approval and now with SAPQ we have the methodology to allow designers to calculate heat losses using this system. It will help massively.”
The Appendix Q accreditation was also welcomed by David Lowe, technical director with profiled-roofing manufacturer, SpeedDeck which has just launched a standing-seam roof system incorporating Energyflo’s dynamic insulation technology. “Even though the SAP only applies to residential buildings, I see this as a very positive development. Our equivalent methodologies are IES and SBEM and I’d like to think we’ll see recognition by these of dynamic insulation within the next 12 months” he said.
A SpeedDeck dynamic insulation system with a sedum covering is currently being installed on a domestic project in Northampton. The developer, Stephen Cragg, proprietor of Soiltechnics Ltd chose dynamic insulation for it’s excellent insulation performance and the ability to reduce the size of his heating system.
A description of dynamic insulation technology is now available on the Appendix Q website where test data and a calculation spreadsheet can also be found.