The most energy efficient windows and doors on the market are to be showcased at a new commercial innovation centre for environmental building designs, products and services, launched last week.
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,The CMS Innovation Hub in Cumbernauld will feature the latest energy saving products and devices for the building of homes and workplaces, produced by leading construction and supply firms.
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,Builders, architects, specifiers, public and private sector buyers and contractors, as well as homeowners, will be able to meet with manufacturers and access the most advanced products available to reduce energy use.
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,The 10,000ft2 facility, situated in the grounds of CMS Window Systems’ Lanarkshire HQ is, according to the CMS, itself ‘a model of energy efficiency’. Until recently it was a disused warehouse with the lowest energy efficiency, ‘G’ rating and facing demolition.
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,After being retrofitted with external ‘stone wool’ insulation blocks, highly thermal efficient windows and an air source heat pump with an VRV intelligent heat recovery system, which recovers heat from one area of the building and transfers it to another, it now has an ‘A’ rating for energy efficiency.
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,There are also plans to install solar panels on the roof to meet its energy use and to make the building carbon neutral.
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,Among the companies represented at the centre, which was officially opened by Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Energy Minister on Friday (May 16), are Yale, Rockwool, Sealco Scotland, Daikin UK, Saint-Gobain, Sheerfame and Metal Technology.
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,Regulations due to come into force in October 2015 will require all new buildings to be more energy efficient, cutting average CO2 emissions by 21%. Non-domestic premises such as shops and offices will be expected to implement tougher regulations and their emissions will be cut by 43%.
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,Andy Kerr, managing director of CMS Window Systems and the driving force behind the Innovation Hub, said its aim was to ensure the UK construction industry had access to the most advanced products and services to make the country a world leader in energy efficient building design and construction.
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,He said: “The Innovation Hub is showcasing an extensive range of energy efficient products which, taken together, have helped turn a dilapidated ‘G’ rated structure, fit for demolition, into an ‘A’ rated building.
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,“We are far from finished and our aim is to achieve an ‘A+’ rating, which means it will be carbon neutral.”
,Alongside the exhibition space, there is a seminar room for up to 90 people, as well as meeting spaces. CMS Window Systems hopes the facility will be used by local schools, colleges and community organisations to discuss issues around climate change and sustainability.
Kevin Hill, managing director of Yale Door and Window Solutions, concluded: “This is an important occasion in the construction industry and Yale is delighted to play its part.
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,“Sustainability and carbon reduction are both integral pledges made by government and the new Innovation Hub is the ideal place for companies to educate on revolutionary new products on show that can help to achieve these targets.”
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,Derek Malcolm, managing director of Sealco, the main distributor of Yale products in Scotland, said: “Until now, there has been nowhere in Scotland to see all the latest developments in construction and glazing in one space.
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,“Construction has been badly affected by the recession and it’s important to look to new technologies and
