Colorcoat® Projects on Google Street View

My Dutch collegue has just sent across two links to Google Street View which show two projects featuring Colorcoat® products…

The first is Het Strijkijzer. Modelled on the famous Flat Iron building in New York, this building makes full use of Colorcoat® products in various profile configurations:

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The second is Waterwongingin Blaue Hart:

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Finally, i’ve had a quick look on street view and found the Ikea Store in Coventry, which uses Colorcoat Prisma® – go ahead, have a look around…

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Have you spotted any of your own projects in Street View that use Colorcoat? If so, show them off by posting a comment below…

Corus Colors wins at BEMA

Corus Colors has won the award for best campaign under £25k at this years BEMA awards. The Education campaign, focussing on pre-finished steel solutions for Educational buildings incorporated a series of print ads, a comprehensive brochure and a dedicated mini-site. To view the Education mini-site, click here.

About BEMA

The Built Environment Marketing Awards are an opportunity to compete against the best in the construction industry. The awards recognise creativity, innovation and effectiveness for marketing and business development in the built environment. For more information, click here

SolarWall® In Action Event – Comment by Stephen Fisher, Corus Colors

Stephen Fisher, Market Development Manager at Corus Colors, gives his take on the recent SolarWall in Action Event at the British Motor Heritage Museum….

Free heating, reduced fuel bills, reduced CO2 emissions, improved BREEAM ratings, excellent ventilation properties. Music to the ears of any building owner. Acting as a third skin to the building fabric, SolarWall® is a perforated Transpired Solar Collector which harnesses solar radiation to heat ambient air via a perforated collector.

Solar heated air is drawn from the external surface of the collector, through the perforations, before being distributed into the building where it is used directly as building ventilation or as a pre-heater for the building’s main heating system- reducing the amount of energy required to heat the building and associated CO2 emissions. New build and retro-fit buildings can utilise the technology which uses Corus Colorcoat Prisma® pre-finished steel. The level of initial interest for the SolarWall® product has been high.

Every time I have presented the offering alongside the Colorcoat® branded product offering, I have been met with requests for more information from the customer, or further meetings, to enable their other team members to hear about the benefits the CA Group product can bring to a project. So it was no real surprise to me that at the Motor Heritage Museum at Gaydon, venue for the SolarWall® in Action day this month, attendance figures were 40% over capacity. Representatives from a number of high profile clients, some of Europe’s biggest main contractors, along with developers and construction consultants were in attendance.

Some had heard of SolarWall® in part, others were new to the concept. The networking over with, the main presentations got underway. Peter Strikwerda, MD of Corus Colors, welcomed the audience and opened the proceedings with an insight into how both Corus and CA group were approaching the sustainability agenda. Kevin Bygate, Director of Product Development for Corus Colors, then set the scene as to why Corus and CA Group were so well aligned and had teamed up to help bring this particularly innovative venture to the market. The over-riding reason being a common understanding for the need for better performing buildings for future generations. Then it was the turn of Brian Watson, Commercial Director for CA Group, who took the audience through how SolarWall® works and the numerous benefits it can bring to a building. What struck me here was the amount of independent third party evidence which backed up the claims being made by the speaker. Reports by BSRIA, Battle McCarthy and the Swavesey report emphasised the benefits which SolarWall® delivers in terms of both energy savings and renewables (costs, percentage achieved etc.) The case studies presented at the end of the presentation also successfully demonstrated this. As I looked around the room I was greeted by the sight of an audience captivated by what they were hearing, the vast majority leaning forwards in concentration.

After presentations by Jaguar Land Rover, who are using SolarWall® on the nearby JLR Academy, and a short Q and A session, the audience were afforded the opportunity to see the system first hand and witness the energy savings it has bought to date, live, through monitoring equipment installed at JLR. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Listening to feedback on the way to the Academy, the information delivered so far had obviously been well received, comments such as ‘I’m seriously impressed with the payback time’ and ‘I will be looking to put it forward as a generic spec for my future buildings…’ was a testament to that. The tour itself only served to confirm what people had heard about SolarWall® earlier. The improved air quality in the building itself was a comment I heard several times throughout the visit. This coupled with evidence of the energy savings for the building seemed enough to have many people seriously thinking about the bonuses a system such as SolarWall® could provide to their building stock.

All in all the day itself was a huge success with numerous follow up meetings being made with interested parties with a view to lock SolarWall® into a number of project specifications. And with so many positives it is hard to argue against the offering.

Colorcoat® Column – perforated Transpired Solar Collectors (pTSC’s)

New renewable technologies are being developed for integration into the building envelope all of the time. The complexity of these technologies, makes the task of balancing cost against efficiency, one that is extremely difficult. Pre-finished steel perforated Transpired Solar Collectors (pTSC’s) offer a simple alternative renewable energy that can be used as a solution for new build or retro-fit.

What is a perforated Transpired Solar Collector (pTSC)?

The principle of the perforated Transpired Solar Collector is simple. Installed as an additional skin to a buildings southerly facing elevation, the system consists of a pre-finished steel sheet with thousands of tiny perforations uniformly spaced across the full face of the collector (termed SolarWall® ).

As solar radiation strikes the surface of the SolarWall® and is absorbed, solar heat conducts to the fine layer of air that lines the outer face of the panel (known as the thermal boundary layer). This heated boundary layer of air is then drawn through the perforations into an air cavity between the SolarWall and the original elevation behind. From here the fresh, heated air can then be fed directly into the building as heated ventilation air, or ducted into a heating unit to supplement the buildings heating system.

What type of cost savings can I achieve by installing a perforated Transpired Solar Collector?

Perforated Transpired Solar Collectors combine high efficiency with cost effectiveness. The savings it offers on heating bills means it can pay for itself in less than five years. Very few, if any, renewable energy solutions can get close to this short payback time. SolarWall® from CA group has a proven track record and can reduce heating bills by up to 50% and the total building CO2 emissions by up to 20%.

Does the colour of the pre-finished steel effect the efficiency of a perforated Transpired Solar Collector?

Black absorbs and white reflects light so naturally it is assumed that to collect solar radiation, the collector on the building’s external wall should be black – which may not necessarily complement the aesthetics of the building. Different colours have differing absorbtivity rates and this can impact on the efficiency of a perforated Transpired Solar Collector. It is important to ensure the most effective colour of pre-finished steel is specified whilst maintaining the aesthetic of the building. The colour range provided by Corus Colorcoat Prisma® is particularly effective for solar absorption and allows a wide range of colours to be used increasing the attractiveness of the building.

For more information regarding SolarWall®, visit the CA Group website.
For more information regarding Colorcoat Prisma®, visit colorcoat-online.com

Corus Colors & CarbonNeutral Seminar: Developing a Low Carbon Strategy for the Commercial Built Environment

The CarbonNeutral Company are hosting a series of seminars beginning in November. Corus Colors is co-hosting an event on Tuesday November 10th 2009 – details of the event and how to register your interest are outlined below:

Developing a Low Carbon Strategy for the Commercial Built Environment

Co-hosted with Corus Colors

With the global population doubling every 40 years there is a need to erect as many buildings in the next 50 years as in the last 5000. At the same time we face a global challenge to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and increase energy efficiency from 10% to 25% per decade.

Within the construction industry’s scope of responsibility there is a great deal that can be done to address greenhouse gas emissions as we progress towards a low carbon economy. However, not all solutions are obvious or straightforward. This panel will take a holistic view of the built environment’s carbon footprint and explore the most cost-effective ways to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Speakers include:

John Connaughton, Partner, Davis Langdon LLP

Dave Taylor, Business Development Manager, Corus Colors

Simon Cox, Vice President, ProLogis

Peter Farmer, Director, 3DReid

Date:

Tuesday 10th November, 2009

8.00am for 8.15am start – 10.00am (breakfast provided)

Where:

Bonnington Rooms, 2/3 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2RL

RSVP:

To reserve your place, please email aimee.mcintosh@carbonneutral.com

or call 0207 8336025

This event is free to attend but places are limited so booking is essential.

The CarbonNeutral Company are hosting a series of seminars beginning in November. Corus Colors is co-hosting an event on Tuesday November 10th 2009 – details of the event and how to register your interest are outlined below:

Developing a Low Carbon Strategy for the Commercial Built Environment

Co-hosted with Corus Colors

With the global population doubling every 40 years there is a need to erect as many buildings in the next 50 years as in the last 5000. At the same time we face a global challenge to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and increase energy efficiency from 10% to 25% per decade.

Within the construction industry’s scope of responsibility there is a great deal that can be done to address greenhouse gas emissions as we progress towards a low carbon economy. However, not all solutions are obvious or straightforward. This panel will take a holistic view of the built environment’s carbon footprint and explore the most cost-effective ways to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Speakers include:

John Connaughton, Partner, Davis Langdon LLP

Dave Taylor, Business Development Manager, Corus Colors

Simon Cox, Vice President, ProLogis

Peter Farmer, Director, 3DReid

Date

Tuesday 10th November, 2009

8.00am for 8.15am start – 10.00am (breakfast provided)

Where

Bonnington Rooms, 2/3 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2RL

RSVP

To reserve your place, please email aimee.mcintosh@carbonneutral.com

or call 0207 8336025

This event is free to attend but places are limited so booking is essential.