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Kingspan Insulation has published a new white paper assessing how different floor insulation specifications can impact cost and floor-to-ceiling height in home refurbishments. The report is based on research from leading consultants — Currie & Brown. It shows that Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard can provide a cost-effective option for insulating solid floors without reducing headroom.

Ground floors in many UK homes are uninsulated. By retrofitting insulation in these areas, it is possible to reduce annual energy bills by as much as £65. When choosing insulation for these refurbishment applications, it is important to look at their thermal conductivity. Insulation materials with lower thermal conductivities are more efficient and can allow a compliant U-value to be achieved with a slimmer thickness of insulation. Currie & Brown carried out a cost analysis to see how this can affect solid floor applications.

The research looked at Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard, which has the lowest thermal conductivity of any commonly used insulation (0.018 W/m·K), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation with a thermal conductivity of 0.038 W/m·K. The insulation materials were compared in two refurbishment scenarios for an existing solid concrete floor with a sand and cement screed:

  1. The sand and cement screed was removed and replaced with insulation and either a 35 mm liquid screed or 65 mm sand and cement screed;
  2. The existing floor was excavated and replaced with a 100 mm concrete slab, insulation and the sand and cement or liquid screed

All constructions were designed to achieve a maximum U-value of 0.25 W/m².K – complying with the refurbishment requirements outlined within Approved Document L1B in England & Wales.

The research shows that it was considerably more cost effective to remove and replace the screed layer rather than excavating the entire slab. When adopting this approach, the Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard with liquid screed was the only construction which allowed existing headroom to be retained. This also avoids potential remedial costs relating to altering floor heights, such as raising fixtures and pipework, which were not considered within the analysis.

You can download and read the full white paper at: https://www.kingspan.com/gb/en-gb/products/insulation/kingspan-insight/maintaining-floor-to-ceiling-height-in-residential

For further information, please contact:
Tel: +44 (0) 1544 387 384
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Email: info@kingspaninsulation.co.uk
Website: www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk
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Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard has been installed as part of a new, three-storey block at The Heath School – helping to bring existing specialisms together under one roof.

The building, designed by Ryder, was constructed to accommodate up to 1,050 pupils and 200 sixth form students. By replacing the old structure with state-of-the-art, climate-controlled classrooms and improved facilities, the school could aim to raise their OFSTED rating to ‘Truly Exceptional’. 1,720 m2 of Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard was specified for the ground floor with a further 605 m2 of Kingspan Thermapitch TP10 installed within the roof construction to help the school towards its target of a BREEAM rating ‘Very Good’.

Gareth Callen, Partner at Ryder, discussed the specification:

“It was essential that building materials were tried and tested in addition to having excellent thermal performance and the Kingspan Insulation products met these requirements. The Kingspan Insulation products helped us to minimise the building’s energy consumption.”

The school was planned using passive design features that could be successfully implemented within budget. Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard has a thermal conductivity of just 0.018 W/m·K across all thicknesses, making it the most thermally efficient insulation products commonly used. This allowed room heights to be maximised without compromising the fabric performance of the building. Both Kingspan Insulation products installed on the building have been assigned a Green Guide Rating of A+, contributing towards the award of credits within the BREEAM assessments.

The Kingspan insulation boards were delivered to site ready to install and were also easy to handle, which meant little disruption to the parts of the school still operating during construction. The lightweight fibre-free core is non-deleterious, and the boards can be cut to size with a sharp knife or fine-toothed saw, making it quick to fit. This allowed the contractors to mitigate some of the concerns of residents who were worried about access constraints and traffic build-ups in an already busy area.

All Kingspan Kooltherm, Therma and KoolDuct insulation products and cavity closers manufactured at Kingspan Insulation’s facilities in Pembridge and Selby are certified to BES 6001 (Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products) ‘Excellent’. The products are manufactured with a blowing agent that has zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP).

For further information, please contact: Tel: 01544 387 384 Email: info@kingspaninsulation.co.uk Website: www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk