Saint-Gobain Weber’s External Wall Insulation (EWI) has been specified by East Midland Homes (EMH) in the thermal and aesthetic upgrade of dwellings in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. This 20-property pilot scheme is the first of its kind in a strategic partnership between npower and is supported by Greenworks, part of the Saint-Gobain Group, for the delivery of EWI in an Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
These three-bedroom semi-detached properties, built with single brick skins in the 1960s, have recently been wrapped in weber.therm XM EWI that will reduce heat loss by a massive 85% slashing U-values calculated by Weber from 2.0W/m²k to 0.3 W/m²k. For the first time the tenants are enjoying a warm and comfortable winter and have noticed that during rare summer heatwaves the interior temperature is already cooler and more comfortable. The Energy Saving Trust listed weber.therm XM EWI system will provide even more valuable thermal performance as retained heat within the properties will reduce fuel consumption and related costs will be dramatically reduced.
The substantial funding required for this type of structural improvement has been reducing from Government sources in recent years, but the ECO scheme in which the power companies are obliged to provide funding for thermal improvements, has made significant contribution. In this three-year arrangement between npower, Greenworks and other Saint-Gobain businesses, a fabric first approach will be adopted that ensures maximum thermal performance at the most efficient price. npower generates the finance whilst the Greenworks’ partners ensure the best and most technical products are skilfully and efficiently installed. The success of the pilot scheme has already identified a further 70 homes that will be treated with Saint-Gobain Weber’s EWI during the coming months.
The weber.therm XM EWI system includes 90mm of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) insulation which is either mechanically fixed or bonded to the outer skin wall using weber.rend LAC. The insulation is then coated with weber.rend LAC in which mesh-cloth reinforcement is embedded. When dry the render surface is primed with a brush-applied coat of weber PR310 prior to the finish coat of decorative weber.plast TF. Wellwarm Insulation of Leicester has carried out the weber.therm XM EWI installation on these properties.
Sean Sunderland of EMH Homes has led the project in Ilkeston and has previous positive experience of the Weber EWI system. “We used Weber EWI for 70 homes in the Northampton area and offered the same system as part of our Green Deal campaign to private home owners in the same area. Over 70 residents jumped at the chance of enhancing their homes. The Weber EWI system is now our chosen product and it is included in all our framework agreements so that whichever contractor secures our work, they can only use the Weber EWI system on our properties. The residents in Ilkeston are full of praise for the thermal performance of their properties and we chose a light coloured final finish coat in Ivory, which helps to reflect heat away from the walls, to make these homes more comfortable in the summer.”
The homes benefitting from the application of weber.therm XM EWI are part of the 18,000 properties owned by EMH in 40 local authority areas across the East Midlands that covers 6,000 square miles. EMH, with assets of £614million and an annual turnover of £72 million, employs 1100 people and has a target to build 300 affordable new homes each year for the next five years. In addition to this development plan, a multi-million pound property renovation project is running which is designed to raise the thermal standard of the portfolio to current Better Homes standards.
For more information about this project, or for technical support, please contact Saint-Gobain Weber on 08703 330 070, or visit www.netweber.co.uk. Customers in Ireland should call 028 9335 2999 or visit www.weber.ie.
A free download of the new weber.app for iPhone and iPad users is also available from iTunes and from Google Play for Android smartphones and tablet users. Follow Saint-Gobain Weber on Twitter @SGWeberUK for the latest company news and updates.
