MEASUREMENT
The
& INSPECTION
heat is on
As UK energy waste continues to go through the roof, a handful of organisations is
leading the drive towards greener housing. Julia Pierce reports
ACCORDING to EU figures, approxi-
mately 40 per cent of the UK’s energy
consumption is expended on heating,
cooling and lighting buildings. In the face
of pressure to cut carbon emissions,
reducing this figure is now a key
government target.
44
The Code for Sustainable Homes,
published by the Department for
Communities and Local Government in
2006, set a target of producing zero carbon
homes by 2016. Meanwhile, later this year
the government’s Climate Change Bill
will become law. This aims to set a legal
framework for ensuring reductions in
CO 2 emissions by 2020 with a final aim of
achieving a 60 per cent reduction of 1990
carbon emission levels by 2050.
But it is not just the government that
is interested in reducing energy loss —
and its associated bills. Measuring the
insulation properties of building materi-
als and structures began in the 1940s and
1950s, but was thrust into the spotlight
during the energy crisis of the 1970s.
Now, soaring energy costs and the
introduction of Energy Performance
Certificates that allow prospective
homebuyers, and soon, renters, to see a
home’s energy use have once again
brought insulation to the fore.
Further legislation and regulations
aimed at minimising energy use in new
buildings, and eventually older proper-
ties, are expected. This means everyone
from manufacturers, regulatory authori-
ties and builders to architects and
designers must prove their products and
designs meet stringent guidelines for
thermal performance, without which
they will not be able to sell the products.
However, the measurements used to
judge this thermal performance must be
accurate and traceable to accepted
measurement standards, and the
expertise and equipment to undertake the
mammoth task of certifying everyone lies
with just a few specialist sites.
‘Apart from the major insulation
manufacturers, which have apparatus for
measuring the thermal conductivity of
their products for quality control, there
‘Apart from major insulation firms, only seven
organisations are UKAS accredited to measure
materials’ thermal properties’ Ray Williams, NPL
are only seven organisations that are
accepted by the United Kingdom
Accreditation Service (UKAS) to
measure the thermal properties of
materials and two that are UKAS
accredited to measure the thermal
performance of structures, and the
National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is
one,’ said Ray Williams, principal NPL
research scientist.
To determine materials’ thermal
performance, the organisation has
developed apparatus that is capable of
accurately measuring the thermal
performance of insulation materials
from -170°C through continues 46 ➜
the EnGIneeR 19 MAY–1 JUNE 2008
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