Solar heating meets thermally efficient buildings in Wigan
CA Group has helped Armstrong Point Business Park in Wigan achieve BREEAM’s title of ‘Best industrial building of 2013’ with a combination of thermally efficient building envelopes and solar energy for space heating. It was designed to be the UK’s first zero-energy-cost business park and comprises three new buildings with a total of nine industrial units.
Each unit is clad with the Twin-Therm built up roof and wall system to provide high levels of thermal insulation and air tightness. The system, with its Therma-quilt insulation, has been classified by the ‘Green guide to specification’ as having an A+ rating, so its specification automatically provides a positive contribution to the overall BREEAM score.
All nine units are also fitted with CA’s SolarWall transpired solar collector to preheat fresh outside air as it is drawn into the building’s heating system. It is said to have the highest efficiency (up to 80%) and quickest return on investment of any solar technology currently available, with a estimated payback as low as three years. The system is expected to save tenants at Armstrong Point 15.5 t of CO2 a year.
