Eden Renewable Innovations Limited

scope: To supply a healthy and environmentally friendly insulation to insulate the roof of a large sports hall.

aims: Sports halls are surely places to burn energy not conserve it. That’s certainly the case with the majority, but the Sportscotland National Sports Centre in the North Ayrshire town of Largs is changing all that.The vision of the Principal, John Kent, is to provide a centre of sporting excellence whilst at the same time conserve and reduce energy consumption in a sustainable way to reduce heating costs. As part of the grand plan the 2,650 square metre sports hall and fitness room has been insulated with Thermafleece, sheep’s wool insulation made by Cumbrian firm, Second Nature UK Ltd.The height and scale of the hall would have daunted the faint-hearted installer. But Clyde Insulation Contracts from Stirling rose to the challenge and a team of three fitters installed 200 mm of Thermafleece at heights of over 12 metres. Working through the night when the array of sporting activities had ceased, to cause minimum disruption to the Centre, they completed the job within five weeks. Adam Fleming, Operations Director of Clyde reported; “From an installers perspective Thermafleece is a dream product to work with. It comes in practically sized batts for ease of handling and installation. The natural fibres of the wool created no health hazard to the fitters and as it isn’t a skin irritant I believe overall this resulted in increased productivity. We look forward to using the product on many more jobs throughout Scotland.”John Kent said; “We contacted the Energy Agency in Ayr, just one of the UK wide network of Energy Efficiency Advice Centres. They arranged a free Action Energy audit to quantify our energy usage and specify actions to cut our bills. The roof of the sports hall was identified as the biggest source of energy loss. The ceiling is slatted and we knew it would be difficult to install any insulation. Using a natural material became a strong criterion in case any fibres ‘rained down’ through the slats on to the courts. Thermafleece became the ideal choice as it has so many health benefits.”On the hillside behind the facility stand three 6KW wind turbines which help to provide electricity for the centre. They were installed following the Energy Audit with the help of a capital grant from the Scottish Community & Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI). The Energy Savings Trust, who administer the SCHRI, are able to provide assistance with passive energy-efficiency measures to complement grant-assisted renewable installations. This meant that Sportscotland were able to obtain a grant for 55% of the total cost of the Thermafleece installation, the balance being funded by themselves.Joe Fergusson, Renewables Development Officer with the Energy Agency said; “The various advantages of alternative natural insulating materials are demonstrated to the full in this installation. Although the materials cost more they are far easier to handle, and the insulation benefits are complemented by the environment-friendly production process. The centre, again with the assistance of the energy Agency, is now studying the options for incorporating solar water heating to supplement the oil-fired system for the refectory and accommodation wings, both of which are busiest in the sunnier months.”