2010 marked the thirtieth anniversary of ACTIS, the leading manufacturer of reflective multifoil and wood fibre insulation. Managing Director Matthew King explains how the past 30 years have influenced the future of energy efficiency.
It’s been a very changeable 30 years for the construction industry. In 1980, the year ACTIS introduced multi-foil insulation to the European market, people had an entirely different relationship with their homes. We weren’t a nation of aspiring home owners and climate change and energy efficiency weren’t the personal and national obsessions that they are now.
But everything began to change. The government took note and introduced legislation to fight the climate change problem. In the 1990s it became compulsory for all new builds and extensions to feature cavity wall insulation, while in 2002 the government set new targets for insulation energy efficiency. This was strengthened in 2006 when the government introduced the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating for both new and existing buildings as a whole. The British government today is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
Improving a building’s insulation could be the best way to achieve this ambitious goal. Even though fibre and foam still predominate, there are a plethora of insulation innovations that have the potential to transform the industry. Naturally, we would regard one to be thermal reflective multi-foil, which is thinner than traditional solutions and is being used to great effect across Europe in buildings that can’t be served by inflexible fibre and foam. There are also other materials such as phase-change insulation, aerogel and vacuum insulated panels which have a very low conductivity value but are still very expensive. Another consideration is eco-friendly insulation materials (made from animal or vegetal fibres) which provide the double benefit of being environmentally responsible and highly effective.
ACTIS recently launched SYLVACTIS, a wood fibre insulation product which offers low conductivity value and high thermal lag making it a suitable insulation solution for both winter and summer. Also, the breathable qualities of wood wool, provided through its natural fibres, ensure that air quality is maintained inside the house.
If we want to achieve better and better energy efficiency we have to turn to technological innovation. Over the past 30 years, ACTIS has been at the forefront of that innovation with its TRISO-SUPER 10 multifoil and SYLVACTIS wood fibre insulation, and we will strive to pioneer insulation innovations for many more years to come.
