Control Downlighter Fire Risk in the Roof

The issue of downlights and finding a suitable barrier and installation method remains an ongoing challenge to contractors.
Worse still is the fact that many installers of downlights themselves to not adhere to the rules about installing downlights in the vicinity of roof structure elements e.g. purlins. Fires have even occurred even in the absence of insulation, where just the wooden structural members begins to char owing to the excessive heat created mainly by halogen downlight globes and even within 240-12 v transformers.
The topic has come more to the fore in recent months with the involvement of TIASA that are now establishing a technical working committee to evolve governing standards for their members. The problem is not unique to South Africa, in the UK suitable approved fire resistant covers are a mandatory requirement with insulation installations. When Australia adopted new Energy Efficiency legislation a few years back and introduced a free insulation scheme for domestic households it enticed a lot of fly by night operators into the insulation industry, some of these operators did not adhere to appropriate guidelines resulting in close to 90 fires and ultimately led to the resignation of the then Federal Environmental Minister Peter Garrett.

Eco-Insulation has devised some special solutions to control the downlighter fire hazard. The devices pictured below were designed, built and patented by Eco Cape Town.
 

Making ready for the installation of downlighter protector. Note - proximity of the wooden cross-member.

Note - patent Eco-Cape Town

A completed installation - note how hot air is vented out into the roofspace.

ECO-INSULATIONS NEW PROFESSIONAL MARKET CAMPAIGN

Eco-Insulation has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at professionals - architects, developers, green building specialists and designers. Look out for our bold new ad that addresses Energy Efficiency in Housing Projects.

Give us a call to help with advising your housing project on energy savings!

ECO-INSULATION IDEAL FOR LOW COST HOUSING GREEN SOLUTIONS

 At the 4^th Annual Convention of the Green Building Council of SA held in Cape Town last year, encouraging residential green building retrofit projects were announced by  GBCSA CEO Brian Wilkinson, including a British High Commission-sponsored green street retrofit in KZN, coinciding with the COP 17 held in Durban.





As a GBCSA Member, Eco-Insulation, is involved in the production of green thermal insulation building material from recycled commercial cellulose waste streams. The greening of South Africa's underdeveloped low-cost housing sector represents a major opportunity to get it right, first time. Green street projects are steps in the right direction. We are encouraged by this development.


 Eco-Insulation believes that the usage of our product above the ceiling, within the cavity or even under the floor will contribute significantly to a favourable rating of future building projects – “designed” and “as built”.


We base these claims on the following facts about our product:

• As a recycled cellulose material the product is effectively upcycled, leaving minimal environmental footprint during manufacture thanks to its low energy mechanical process – meaning low embodied energy.
• The energy-saving performance of the product, once installed, is excellent – considerably benefiting the energy performance of the whole building. In certain building designs under extreme summer conditions, buildings have been observed to be up to 8 – 10 ºC cooler, and considerably warmer in winter.
• It is readily recycled when no longer needed in situ.
• In the case where downcycling is the only option, it can be put to use in various agricultural applications. Significantly, it is one of few insulating materials to be fully biodegradable.
• Eco-Insulation is a zero-emission product. It is safe to have in the home. This is a major advantage over many composite insulation offerings in the market.
• Well-suited to mass housing development projects. Eco-Insulation's sun-contractors can service multiple housing units during a single visit. The product is seamlessly pumped into place and once installed, settles and forms a high-performance thermal protection layer that conforms to the requirements of SANS 10400 XA Codes on demand.

Eco-Insulation is approved under SABS 1381-6 and therefore displays the SABS mark.
Specifiers be warned: Advertising a product as being “SABS tested” does not mean that the product is SABS approved. Only products carrying the SABS mark comply with the relevant standard. Eco-Insulation proudly displays the SABS Certification Mark. It also carries a fire rating of  B/B1/2, meaning no spread of flame.

OPPORTUNITIES IN ENERGY COST SPIRALS

Recently our good friends at Infixion Media were so impressed with our brand that they granted us a free ad in the prestigious Specifier Magazine by way of alerting their valued readers to the opportunities offered by Eco-Insulation in countering the shocking price increases in electricity that have spiraled over the past 2 years and will hit South Africa again this year.


So not only is Eco-Insulation the sensible green choice in sustainable building materials, it also can result in an immediate reduction in electricity costs, once installed.


Now is there any good reason why Eco-Insulation should not be specified? I think not!


You can view our slightly controversial, but fun ad that Specifier Magazine placed for us, freely, here:

INSULATING THE COUNTRY'S PAST?

Inside the massive outer wall structure of the Castle of Good Hope, there has been for many years a workplace environmental problem. Highly thermal conductive dark coloured roof material with very poor insulative properties covering high thermal mass structure = a cooking pot of alarming efficiency. This means unproductive heat in the office through summer and chilly winters once the inside walls had cooled to ambient. Some years back planners addressed the problem by adding resin-bonded fibre insulation faced with foil under cement tiles. Indeed this brought a measure of relief to building occupants. However some 20 years on the glass fibre based material installed had collapsed, material density went up and R-values went down.



The formula that governs the relationship between R-value, material type and density is complex, but in essence, a material's thermal conductivity (the inverse of R-value) is proportional to its density. Therefore high density = good thermal conductor = poor insulator. This is why dormant air is a superb insulator and the best insulating materials are low density substances that entrap a large volume of dormant air.
 
A professional assessment of the situation quickly identified that the problem was all in the roof and with the existing insulation that no longer met mimimum standard R-values hence presenting a problem. Richard Ellis, the principal agent in the CT Eco-Insulation franchise recommended Eco-Insulation be pumped to the maximum possible depth of 110 mm provided the existing collapsed insulating product be removed. This was agreed, and the company asked to purge the old foil faced glass wool insulation from inside the roof space. The ceiling is a vaulted style therefore sloping at an angle.
 
The result is a much cooler building that affords maximum protection against the ingress of the summer heat.
 
The tricky job of removing old, collapsed glass wool insulation is not one to be relished. The Eco-Insulation team has developed safe and effective methodologies for removal and disposal. Call us for details.
 

 
 
 
 
 Removing old non-performing glass wool. Notice, it was the foil-face variety, but nonetheless non-performing.

ECO-INSULATION PROJECT FEATURES IN 'LEADING FOCUS' AS CASE STUDY FOR RETROFITTING AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

You can't keep a good project down. Successful stories keep breeding further success. The South African Large Telescope installation by Richard Ellis and his team was listed as a finalist in the Top Ten projects by the Southern African Energy Efficiency Association.

Here, this story has been carried by Leading Architecture and Design Journal, a top quality magazine that speaks to the design and architectural community. The magazine is published by a division of Media 24.

Source: http://www.leadingarchitecture.co.za/

Read for yourselves (click on the photo to open and size in in a new screen):

ECO-INSULATION IN THE NEWS DURING COP17 TIME

Southern Africa Energy Efficiency Award 2011 finalist and 2008 Winner, Eco-Insulation has recently been featured in the prestigious "25 Degrees in Africa" publication, issued at the time of the COP17 Durban events.

Featured in Vol 6 Number 6 of 2011 is an article that describes the energy efficiency project undertaken at the South African Astronomical Observatory complex at Sutherland in the Karoo.


This is the same project for which Eco-Insulation was listed as a finalist at the SAEE Convention 2011 Awards this year.


Should any follower of the Blog want a scanned copy of this article, please email us at the address provided.


Here is a low res. photo of the Sutherland article. Well done to our installer on site, Richard Ellis, Dave Renecle and the Team.