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'Energy bill savings mean it still pays to go green', says Green Heroes winner
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Hambleside Danelaw Ltd, winner again this year of a Green Heroes award, says that commercial and public sector clients can save thousands of pounds in energy bills each year from the outset if they move into a building constructed with insulated materials and rooflights that cut the need for artificial lighting.
The British roofing products and rooflights manufacturer is urging specifiers and builders not to use current economic pressures as an excuse to source materials that deliver poor energy efficiency for the building occupier, purely on the basis that they may cost less.
Many in the industry already recognise that heating and air-conditioning costs can be cut by the installation of rooflights with low U-values, such as Hambleside’s own award-winning Insulator range. But now that it is becoming more common for rooflights to cover more than 10% of the roof area, more are also seeing a real difference in reducing artificial lighting bills as well as cutting carbon emissions.
Architects should therefore consider the benefits of rooflights in conjunction with the specification for artificial lighting and the reduced costs of using less artificial lighting when rooflight cover is increased. The Government’s ‘Switch it Off’ campaign has, for example, identified relatively small factories saving up to £20,000 per year in energy bills by keeping their rooflights clean and switching off the lights.
Academic research shows that increasing rooflight cover with the resultant inflow of daylight has a positive impact on those living or working in a building. It links natural daylighting to tangible work place benefits, improved retail sales, lower staff absenteeism, faster hospital recovery rates and improved school exam results.
Chris Avery, Hambleside Danelaw’s Managing Director, said: “The economic case for insulated building materials is just as strong as the environmental one, because investment in increased insulation performance has a relatively short pay-back period for the client. And don’t forget that the energy savings will accumulate year on year throughout the service life of the product.”
Green Heroes award recognises Hambleside’s adoption of environmental best practice
Chris Avery was speaking after Hambleside Danelaw’s environmental manager Ray Khan had been presented with the Green Heroes 2008 award by top botanist and TV personality Professor David Bellamy OBE in recognition of the company’s Planet Positive accreditation.
The Green Heroes judges commented: “As manufacturers of GRP structures, Hambleside Danelaw are aware of their environmental impact and have been actively reducing their impact for many years. They are now operating in a carbon positive manner by sustainable practice and carbon offsetting, supporting environmental projects across the world.”
