Latest News
20/11/2007 Judge hands down judgement on Judicial Review
Judge, Mr Justice Charles, handed down judgement on Friday 2 November concerning proceedings for a Judicial Review of the actions of the Secretary of State for Communication and Local Government – acting through the Department (DCLG) – with regard to changes to the building regulations (2006).
Members of the CMM welcome this judgement that supports their claims that they were treated in a grossly unfair manner in events leading up to the change in the building regulations BR443 (2006).
Click here to see and download the judgement (pdf file, 2.7MB).
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All enquiries to:
Confederation of Multi-Foil Manufacturers Ltd
19 Regina Crescent
Ravenshead
Nottingham
NG15 9AE
Tel: 01623 799336
Fax: 01623 798098
Email: info@confederationmultifoil.org
25/01/2007 New multi-foil trade body encourages a fresh approach
Manufacturers push for in-situ testing of multi-foil insulation materials
Three leading insulation companies have joined forces to launch the Confederation of Multi-foil Manufacturers (CMM).
EUROFORM, IPP (International Petroleum Products) and YBS Insulation, are the founder members of the confederation, who together represent 90 per cent of the UK market for thin thermo-reflective multi-foil insulation products.
Key aims of the confederation are to promote the benefits of the innovative insulation solution and to develop a dedicated testing methodology to measure the full thermal performance of multi-foils.
Multi-foils currently account for six per cent of the UK insulation market. With an estimated market growth of approximately 30 per cent per year, these products have an enormous potential for development. However, this potential is severely limited by current tests used to measure the thermal performance of insulation.
The standards currently used to measure the thermal characteristics of insulation materials do not give an accurate indication of the overall thermal performance of thin multi-foil insulation.
These tests do not take into account all possible heat transfer methods and therefore cannot accurately measure the full performance of thin multi-foil insulation.
In the absence of standards suitable for multi-foil insulation, the CMM proposes an in situ test methodology. This enables the measurement, under real conditions and in a comparative manner, of the energy consumption of buildings equipped with thin multi-foil insulation against that of buildings equipped with traditional thick insulation.
Under real conditions, all types of energy transfer (conduction, convection, radiation…) occur simultaneously. In situ measurements enable these to be considered in their entirety.
In parallel, a European Technical Approval (ETA) request is underway for thin multi-foil insulation.
This follows the European Construction Products Directive (1989, OJ L106/1) which includes a procedure enabling new standards to be created for innovative products.
In order to make this request, it was necessary to demonstrate the innovative nature of thin multi-foil insulation and its inability to meet harmonised test standards.
The European Commission has recognised the innovative nature of multi-foils and has approved the request.
The EOTA (European Organisation for Technical Approvals) is the organisation that will process it.
The key-objective of the CMM is to work with EOTA on a standard that takes into account the true thermal properties of thin multi-foil insulation and to integrate in situ test methodology into the ETA request.
The CMM seeks to propose to EOTA a ‘round robin’ test – a series of in situ tests to be carried out in several European countries to validate the relevance of the in situ test protocol.
CMM Director Tony Reed said: “The CMM is hopeful that EOTA will recognise the in situ method for thin insulation within the testing guideline, therefore enabling its members to apply CE marking. This status will provide the building industry and its customers with greater clarity and information on the significant benefits that thin thermo-reflective multi-layer insulation offers.”
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All enquiries to:
Confederation of Multi-Foil Manufacturers Ltd
19 Regina Crescent
Ravenshead
Nottingham
NG15 9AE
Tel: 01623 799336
Fax: 01623 798098
Email: info@confederationmultifoil.org
15/01/2007
TECHNICAL BRIEFING NOTES FROM THE CONFEDERATION OF MULTI-FOIL MANUFACTURERS
Multi-foil insulation is a thin multi-layered complex composed of a series of low emissivity reflective films, each only a few microns thick, interspersed with separators such as wadding, foam, etc…The various layers are welded, glued or sewn together.
The products are supplied in rolls or folded sheets and are intended for use as thermal insulation for residential, commercial and industrial buildings, both in new construction and renovation, for roofs, walls and floors.
This insulation simultaneously counteracts all modes of heat transfer (radiation, convection, conduction) and is particularly efficient at limiting thermal transfer by radiation, which makes up a significant part of all thermal losses from a building.
Thin multi-foil insulation enables insulation solutions which, including air spaces, are much thinner than traditional thick insulation, whilst giving the same thermal efficiency.
It is the first insulation on the market to function both in summer and in winter:
- In summer: reflects infra-red radiation preventing the overheating of attic rooms
- In winter: retains heat within buildings
It also helps to save energy (reducing the need for heating and air conditioning) therefore helping to reduce carbon emissions.
Being relatively thin (30mm max.), multi-foil insulation can create extra living space, and enables beams, and other period features to be left exposed. It is, therefore, ideally suited to renovation projects.
Multi-foil provides durable insulation which does not weaken over time, and is also rot-proof and does not attract rodents.
Flexible, light, easy to carry and quick to install, it is cut with a cutter or sharp scissors and fixed using staples. It is also guaranteed free from irritant fibres.
Since the publication of the European Directive on Energy Saving in 2005 and the coming revisions to the Kyoto objectives, optimum insulation is clearly a hot topic for the construction industry.
Representing 6 per cent of the UK insulation market, and with market growth of approximately 30 per cent per year, these products have an enormous potential for development, but this potential is currently severely limited by the present tests used to measure the thermal performance of insulation.
The standards currently used to measure the thermal characteristics of insulation materials are not appropriate to characterise the overall thermal performance of thin multi-foil insulation.
In the 1960s, a mathematical model for building insulation was established by the scientific community.
This model uses test results from the guarded hot box or the guarded hot plate, laboratory apparatus specially developed to test homogenous mass insulation, primarily measuring the heat transfer by conduction (thermal conductivity λ) of these products in a steady-state environment.
Traditional insulation works principally by reducing thermal transfer by conduction, whereas thin thermo-reflective multi-layer insulation works principally by reducing thermal transfer by radiation. As conduction plays only a minimal part in how thin insulation works, measuring thermal conductivity only is clearly not suitable to give a true picture of the performance offered by thin insulation products.
These tests do not take into account all possible heat transfer methods and therefore cannot accurately measure the full performance of thin insulation.
Furthermore, the current insulation issue (related to the European Directive linked to the Kyoto Protocol) is centred on the energy consumption of buildings. Energy consumption is partly dependant on the overall thermal performance of the installed product, whilst conventional test methods concentrate on one parameter (thermal conductivity), under laboratory conditions which are far from representative of real life outdoor conditions.
Insulation efficiency is dependant on installed insulation. The current laboratory apparatus only measures thermal conductivity and not the overall thermal efficiency of installed insulation.
In the absence of standards suitable for multi-foil insulation, the CMM proposes in situ test methodology, which enables the measurement, under real conditions, and in a comparative manner, of the energy consumption of buildings equipped with thin multi-foil insulation and that of buildings equipped with traditional thick insulation.
The method consists of insulating two strictly identical buildings with different materials and comparing the energy consumption necessary to maintain identical and constant temperature levels within the two buildings:
- One building is insulated with a reference material for which the thermal performance is known and certified (such as mineral wool).
- The other building is insulated with the thin multi-foil insulation to evaluate by comparison with the reference insulation product.
The buildings are exposed to all external climatic variations. The duration of the test is usually 12 to 14 weeks.
Under real conditions, all types of energy transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) naturally occur simultaneously. In situ measurements enable these to be considered in their entirety.
In parallel, a European Technical Approval (ETA) request is underway for thin multi-foil insulation.
This follows the European Construction Products Directive (1989, OJ L106/1) which includes a procedure enabling new standards to be created for innovative products.
In order to make this request it was necessary to justify the innovative nature of thin multi-foil insulation and its inability to meet current harmonised test standards.
The European Commission has recognised the innovative nature of multi-foils and has approved the request.
The EOTA (European Organisation for Technical Approvals), is the organisation that will process it.
The key-objective of the CMM is to work with EOTA on a standard which takes into account the true thermal properties of thin multi-foil insulation and to integrate in situ test methodology into the ETA request.
The CMM seeks to propose to EOTA a ‘round robin’ test - a series of in situ tests to be carried out in several European countries to validate the relevance of the in situ test protocol.
This ETA will close the current debate surrounding multi-foils and clarify the situation in the UK.
In 04/2006 an alteration to the Building Regulations came into force. This amendment requires multi-foils to be tested according to conventional standards.
This amendment was made without any consultation with the industry members who would be most affected by the changes.
Understanding the dramatic effect that this could have on the industry, the CMM then had several meetings with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) with regard to the changes that had been made to BR443 without prior consultation.
It was established that the conventional test methods may not be suitable for testing multi-foil insulation, and that the multi-foil industry had not been consulted by the steering committee, even though the ODPM had insisted at the outset that this was a requirement of any changes being made.
On that basis, the ODPM agreed to a derogation period to allow multi-foil manufacturers to continue to trade on the condition they made an ETA request to establish a standard testing method for their products through EOTA. In the meantime they could continue selling their multi-foil products using independent test certification, tests and calculations.
It was also agreed that in January 2007, the issue would be revisited and that if they had continued with the ETA and could prove that they had made progress, then the derogation period would be extended.
Contrary to expectations, a Technical Guidance Note was issued by the LABC, advising against the use of multi-foils as standalone products.
In spite of this, the CMM is hopeful that EOTA will recognise the in situ method for thin insulation within the Testing Guideline, therefore enabling its members to apply CE marking and providing the building industry and its customers with greater clarity and information on the benefits that thin thermo-reflective multi-layer insulation offers.
- ends -
All enquiries to:
Confederation of Multi-Foil Manufacturers Ltd
19 Regina Crescent
Ravenshead
Nottingham
NG15 9AE
Tel: 01623 799336
Fax: 01623 798098
Email: info@confederationmultifoil.org
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