A charity that provides residential accommodation and support in a community environment for people with learning difficulties has received a donation of help in kind from leading insulation manufacturer, Knauf Insulation, as it attempts to improve both the comfort levels for its residents, and the environmental footprint of its facilities.
Knauf Insulation was approached by a Trustee of the Camphill Devon Community, located at Buckfastleigh on the edge of Dartmoor, seeking support for its energy improvement programme. To complete the project a total of eight pallets, or nearly 100 rolls of Knauf Insulation’s environmentally friendly Earthwool® loft insulation was delivered to the Camphill village site.
Mike Hobbs, a Trustee of the Camphill Devon Community, comments: “A recent survey we had conducted highlighted the inadequacy of the roof insulation across all the properties and it is specifically with this in mind that I approached Knauf Insulation – as a manufacturer of eco-friendly products - to ask the company to supply insulation.
“Most of the houses and a few of the workshops had some roof insulation, but only up to 100mm. We are a charity, which works on a principle of green, eco-friendly methods and have recently installed a PV system of 35 kW to help offset our carbon footprint and reduce our overheads. In addition, the installation of thicker roof insulation will mean we are improving the thermal efficiency and comfort of these properties. The total area of roofs where insulation was required amounted to 1,500 square metres and we are very grateful to Knauf Insulation for its support.”
Knauf Insulation supplied both 150mm and 200mm thick rolls of its Earthwool loft insulation to address the areas, which required an upgrade or had no lagging at all.
The Maintenance Manager for the Charity, Martin Trout, describes the work, saying: “The oldest building is a 14th century farmhouse with the village comprising another nine houses and workshops, the latter including a coppersmiths shop and studio. We have previously double glazed all the buildings and have just had a 35 kW array of PV panels installed to provide us with green electricity, and this upgrade of the insulation in the roofs is all part of trying to improve our energy performance and environmental footprint. We are laying the Earthwool insulation as we carry out other improvement works.”
Earthwool is made with Knauf Insulation’s revolutionary ECOSE® Technology providing sustainability benefits never achieved before. ECOSE Technology is a new, formaldehyde-free binder technology, based on rapidly renewable materials instead of petro-based chemicals. It is free from formaldehyde, phenols, acrylics, no artificial colours, bleach or dyes are added and it reduces embodied energy and delivers superior environmental sustainability.
Knauf Insulation’s glass mineral wool is manufactured with around 60 per cent recycled glass, is recyclable at the end of the building’s life and has the highest possible A+ generic BRE green guide rating, enabling an upgrade to a property to current Building Regulation thermal standards and beyond – a smart choice for any energy efficient upgrade.
For more information on Knauf Insulation’s Earthwool insulation please visit www.knaufinsulation.co.uk