Floor screeding uses concrete in the general mix proportion of 1:4.5-5, and is often burdened with many energy inefficient criticisms borne by the cement utilising industries. Yet traditional floor screeds, which are constituted of Portland cement and sand, earn no brownie points for the polythene (used for curing the screed), and concrete waste that they send to landfill.

Products such as FlexiDry make a real difference. Fast drying, they are part of a new genre of greener floor screeding that can help screeding contractors size down the huge carbon footprints that they leave behind.

FlexiDry is a fast drying floor screed that can be used at much lower thickness than normal screeds – helping to cut down the amount of cement required. They become a perfect complementary layer to underfloor heating systems and act as good heat conductors – transmitting heat efficiently across the floor and bringing down the amount of energy required for heating at the source.

FlexiDry floor screeds also differ from normal cement screeds in that they provide the flexibility of accommodating plan changes and facilitate the alteration of drying times just by varying the amount of liquid additive used. This ultimately helps to reduce the amount of wastage sent to landfills.

Being a high concentrated, low volume liquid, these screeds are easier to transport, and require much less space than bulky pre-bagged powder screeds. FlexiDry floor screeds are also 100% recyclable which makes them considerably less polluting than normal cement screeds.

More information: www.flexidry.com

It will soon be time for a spring clean and what better than de-cluttering those large storage cupboards and adding facilities to your home! Saniflo small-bore macerator pumping systems facilitate the addition of extra amenities almost anywhere.

The unobtrusive units are easy, quick and economic to install, enabling homeowners to overcome the limitations of gravity drained plumbing and maximize the potential of their home. The market leading company has been at the forefront of small-bore technology for over thirty years and with well over 1,000,000 products sold the company is justifiably proud of its track record.

Wherever extra facilities are needed Saniflo has a product precisely designed to fill that need. All that is needed is a water and electric power supply.

More information: www.saniflo.com

The latest addition to the Mira Showers digital family incorporates all the key features of a digital shower with a new sleek lozenge shape which gives a modern and stylish aesthetic to the shower area.

Mira Vision, created to keep up with huge consumer demand for digital showers, works wirelessly to provide the perfect showering experience and also pleases the ‘green’ in us by having an in built eco-mode.

The brand new product also ensures enhanced user experience with its warm up and pause feature. You can remotely turn on the shower from a different room; wait for it to heat up to the desired and programmed temperature, the shower will then pause ready to be reactivated as you step inside.

You also have the option of additional wireless controllers elsewhere in the house to activate the shower and make full use of the warm up and pause function. The state of the art shower also allows you to programme your desired temperature and flow rate.

The digital facility comes with the ‘iconic’ 360 showerhead for added luxury; the design classic rotates on its axis to offer the user four unique spray patters. The shower is adaptable to any system, and is easy to install.

More information: www.mirashowers.co.uk

Open doorways can be a major challenge to energy efficiency in all sorts of premises and air curtains offer the solution, providing an invisible curtain of air to separate internal and external environments when access points are open.

Installing air curtains can give a head start to reducing energy use by cutting a building’s energy consumption by up to an industry-recognised 30 percent.

Phil Chilton, product manager for commercial installed products at Dimplex, says: “Air curtains have huge potential to cut carbon emissions when used with heating systems, and can have an even greater impact on energy use from air conditioning systems.

“With businesses of all types under increasing financial pressure from tough trading conditions, and now the CRC EES adding to costs, air curtains can create high levels of savings for relatively little investment.”

Dimplex has a full range of air curtains that can all have a positive impact on carbon emissions wherever fitted, from the CAB and DAB ranges installed over doors of 3m or 4m respectively, to the prestigious ARC designer models and heavy duty IAB range for large industrial premises.

To further reduce energy use, these air curtains are supplied with a built-in Building Energy Management System (BEMS) interface as standard and they can also be controlled via timers, presence detectors and temperature controls, which together improve the overall performance of a heating or cooling system.

More information: www.dimplex.co.uk

What is described as ‘a ground breaking’ is being undertaken in Reading by Catalyst Housing Group.

Catalyst’s eco-homes project compares two different approaches, one which prioritises cost and one which prioritises performance, to provide information on how best to retrofit hard-to-treat homes, and to help identify value-for-money approaches to reducing carbon dioxide emissions across Catalyst’s housing stock.

As part of this innovative scheme – the first of its kind in the borough – the project team will remotely monitor performance of the homes for one year once residents move in. The residents will then be given training on how to reduce energy consumption by adapting their behaviour and the properties will be monitored for a subsequent year.

Results from the first and second year monitoring phases will be compared. Catalyst hopes this will provide valuable information on how everyone can reduce fuel bills and carbon footprints by making small changes to the way homes are run.

The project uses two Victorian houses from Catalyst’s rental stock in Reading. Building A is referred to as ‘Cost House’, and the marginal costs over and above the standard refurbishment cost are kept as low as possible. Building B is referred to as ‘Quality House’, with budgetary constraints were secondary to performance when measures to reduce CO₂ emissions were being considered at design stage.

Data on CO₂ emissions, water and fuel consumption will be used to measure the actual performance of the homes against projected performance. A huge reduction in the environmental impact of the homes should be brought about by the energy efficiency measures installed, with a projected 83% CO₂ saving from Cost House and a projected 91% saving from Performance House.

The whole project is being delivered on an open book basis, so that other constructors, housing associations, government departments and any other interested parties can use Catalyst’s experience to help inform their own approaches to improving the environmental performance of the UK’s housing stock.

More information: www.chg.org.uk/

The CPD focuses on correct roof design and how to install innovative products so as to retain the integrity of the waterproofing and refers to British Standards & Codes of Practice. It covers built-up/modular green roofs, increasing efficiency of PV energy capture using solar reflective membranes and key points on the HSE’s Working at Height.

More information: www.ribaonlinecpd.com

Following last month’s (December) publication of consultative documents, a report from the UK Energy Research Centre is said to welcome proposal within the Green Deal to stimulate the use of solid wall insulation. Also it praises the detailed consultation on some of the proposals.

But it raises serious concerns that the rationale for some decisions has not been sufficiently well covered, and that key issues – such as how to prevent the ‘Big 6’ energy companies from dominating the market, or overcome the barriers preventing local authorities from engaging in local partnerships – have not been addressed.

UKERC would welcome greater clarification as to how the Green Deal will fit with, and complement other reforms and initiatives being proposed, such as the renewable heat incentive, and feed-in tariffs.

UKERC points out that while Green Deal aims to reduce carbon emissions cost effectively by revolutionising the energy efficiency of British properties, criticism by the Committee on Climate Change suggests that it is unlikely to deliver this objective.

In fact, the Government’s own impact assessment confirms that the rate of energy efficiency improvement will be less than 25% than is currently being achieved. In other words the proposed policy change will reduce policy effectiveness, not improve it.

The UKERC response was compiled by Dr Nick Eyre (University of Oxford), Jan Rosenow (University of Oxford), Joanne Wade (independent researcher) and Dr Charlie Wilson (University of East Anglia).
More information: www.ukerc.ac.uk

The UK’s largest concentration of naturally-heated homes constructed using innovative building materials and techniques that maximise concrete’s thermal mass, is a development in Hertfordshire. The 11 exceptional homes are in the Waterford Hamel Housing Scheme, a ‘low impact living’ development by Lafarge.

Capable of producing near-zero energy bills, the development is a scalable blue-print for how the industry can transition to all new homes being ‘zero carbon’ from 2016.

The development is to be the UK’s largest concentration of naturally-heated homes constructed using innovative building materials and techniques that maximise concrete’s thermal mass.

Exceptional performance is achieved through clever design. Innovative use of materials reduces build costs and allows re-use of all waste during construction. It uses minimal finite natural resources and will significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption when in use.

High thermal mass characteristics are incorporated using a range of Lafarge concrete products together with super-insulation which significantly reduces the heating load of each home, bringing down annual running costs substantially. Homes also feature solar water heating, photovoltaics to generate electricity and rainwater harvesting.

More information: www.lafarge.co.uk

The New Year has been kick started with Twyford Bathroom’s launch of its new Odourwise™ Waterless urinals system, which is said to ‘take designs to a whole new level.’

Easy to install and use, this ‘cutting-edge’ technology offers complete and hygienic solutions for reducing water, odours and costs. Also Odourwise™ helps achieve the 3rd BREEAM credit.

It works by passing urine through a replaceable cartridge system, where a malodour counteractant neutralises odours above the urinal bowl. Meanwhile, the system’s valve acts as a physical barrier against odours re-entering from the pipe work below.

The friendly bacteria inside the cartridge break down the uric salts, preventing any build-up that can cause blockages. As the system is waterless, it also helps avoid the build-up of lime scale.
On average, the Odourwise™ Waterless systems are 4.5 times more hygienic than standard urinals.

The Galerie Plan (shown here) is one of the first hybrid urinals that is truly waterless, combining maximum water savings with enhanced hygiene. It requires neither chemicals nor electricity keeping it eco-friendly as well as economical.

More information: www.twyfordbathrooms.com

The new product’s marketing manager, Craig Dodsworth, says:  “Installing new windows with an energy saving glass such Planitherm can save up to 28% on energy bills and it costs the same as regular glass! Wise home owners are starting to recognise these products and make smart investments for the future.”

Next generation energy saving glass such as Planitherm can be fitted within any double or triple glazed window. Costing around the same as normal window glass, it is claimed it provides ‘the easiest possible route to an A rated window and is a long term investment that will help to save home owners up to 28% on their energy bills’.

It is also pointed out that windows with energy efficient glass such as Planitherm can help to reduce heat loss by 50% compared to traditional windows and frames.