As a designer, you’re no doubt increasingly specifying projects with a view to reducing carbon emissions. We write here about how AccuRoof can help you to hit your low carbon and whole life carbon targets and provide relevant third-party information to support your designs.
Net Zero Carbon is increasingly important
The World Green Building Council calculates that buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions: 28% from operational (in use) emissions and the remaining 11% from embodied emissions, materials and construction.[1] Both sources of emissions need to be addressed.
In the UK, following significant decarbonization in the energy sector, the Committee on Climate Change is now expecting that 75% of further reductions in carbon emissions will come from other sectors, including buildings.[2]
With the launch of a pilot version of the cross-industry UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard in September 2024, the requirement for designers to meet carbon reduction targets in their designs for both new and existing buildings, will only increase.[3]
The role of roofing in Net Zero Carbon
The roof of new and existing buildings provides many opportunities to contribute to carbon reduction in your projects. For example:
- Reducing upfront/embodied carbon by choosing roofing systems with a long life and taking a carbon reduction approach to materials specification, roof maintenance, renewal and repair.
- Reducing operational energy/carbon and fossil fuel use by improving the thermal efficiency in the roof and by incorporating sustainable energy generation.
How AccuRoof can help with carbon reduction in roofing
AccuRoof supports architects from specification to installation, helping you to have the right roof waterproofing for your requirements. Through our diverse product portfolio including Single Ply Membranes, Reinforced Bitumen Membranes, Hot Melt and Cold Applied Liquid systems our Specification Team will be available to assist you with design, specification and support needs.
Here are just a few examples of how the AccuRoof team can support your carbon reduction strategies:
Solar and BioSolar
We have been involved in the design and supply of green roof systems and renewables for many years. The systems we design and supply with our partners can make a contribution to our clients’ decarbonisation and energy efficiency strategies.
As part of SIG Roofing, a leading provider of roofing and construction materials across the UK, AccuRoof offers a full Solar Photovoltaic (PV) service, drawing on a UK network of established, Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) registered installers working to British Standards, Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) codes.
By combining the best elements of Solar PV and green roofing, Biosolar is increasingly popular where clients need to generate energy on site but also comply with the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) mandate. The green roof element supports the PV’s operating temperature envelope, and the PV’s wind and sun shade helps improve the diversity of vegetation. However, to function correctly Biosolar systems must be correctly designed, constructed and maintained. AccuRoof has a growing portfolio of successful biosolar projects on both commercial and residential buildings and can contribute these solutions and others towards your estate strategy.[4]
Long service life Hot Melt
AccuRoof has several long-standing partnerships with manufacturers who have embarked on the journey to reduce global warming potential of their products.
One example is IKO that manufactures many of their products in the UK. Their Permatec Hot Melt product has always had outstanding durability, lasting the design life of the buildingand zero wrapper waste from the hot melt blocks.
Other developments in the product reduced the Global Warming Potential (GWP) to a fraction of IKO’s closest hot melt competitors.
Working with IKO products, AccuRoof’s technical team can design a roofing system which makes the most of products like this to reduce the carbon content of your project whether new build or refurbishment, addressing other brief requirements alongside, such as fire compliance.
Reflective membranes stay cooler
Roofing membranes exposed to the sun can make a considerable contribution to overheating where most roofing membranes are grey or black. A study conducted in California by the Laurence Berkley National Laboratory suggested that clean white roofs can reflect up to 80% of sunlight and will stay about 31˚C cooler than a grey roof what will reflect only 20% of sunlight.[5]
The ability to reflect solar heat is measured using the Solar Reflectance Index (SRI). White roof membranes have higher SRI values, reducing cooling energy demand and emissions, reducing the urban heat island effect and an extended lifespan due to reduced heat related wear.[6]
An example of a white roof membrane is IKO Spectraplan TPE. It has an SRI of 91/100 and requires no solvent preparation.
Insulation and roof system design
Insulation is often the costliest part of a roofing system, and it provides some of the greatest challenges and largest carbon reduction opportunities. We work with a range of insulation manufacturer’s products so that our customers can have the best opportunity to meet their brief and cost requirements.
Improving the thermal performance in a roof sometimes comes at the cost of space and money. When the space for insulation is tight, an understanding of the range of products available and their relative costs and technical merits can help secure the best solution. AccuRoof’s technical office has experience of designing roof systems for complex challenges, and for achieving other performance requirements alongside such as Euroclass A1 or A2-s1,d0 fire rated insulation, compliance of flush door threshold design and alternative schemes for falls and drainage.
Services that can support carbon reduction
AccuRoof is not a manufacturer but rather provides a design, technical support, supply and specification service alongside AccuRoof Registered Roofing Contractors (ARRC). Our holistic service can look at your project needs and deliver a roofing package that addresses the whole project brief. We work collaboratively with the design team, bringing our expertise to the table and working alongside yours. Our product and system advice is agnostic – we always focus on providing the right solution for the project.
It doesn’t end there. The AccuRoof Specification and Technical Teams can provide standard or bespoke detailing as required, exploring the most effective solutions with a view to cost and feasibility. The AccuRoof Registered Roofing Contractor (ARRC) scheme provides roofing contractors with training and technical support, and we have a team of experienced field technicians working across the country on site.
Our teams have worked on a range of projects from schools and Multi Academy Trusts to industrial buildings, from unusual and historic buildings to distribution and data centres. Our Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) team carry out comprehensive surveys and have access to the same technical support and ARRC contractors. If your client wants to extend the life of their roof or plan a whole life cost strategy, we can be on hand to provide support.
Whole Life Carbon assessments
Whole Life Carbon (WLC) emissions are the emissions resulting from materials, construction and use over the building’s entire life, including demolition and disposal. They cover embodied and operational carbon, and repair and replacement cycles. As a result they aim to provide the truest picture of a building’s carbon impact on the environment.
How whole life carbon is best calculated varies according to priorities, and consensus on the way forward is yet to emerge. Guides, methodologies and tools for assessing whole life carbon are appearing from a number of sources including:
- The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) guidance Whole life carbon assessment for architects (December 2019)
- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) methodology Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the built environment (WLCA – September 2023)
- CarboniCa, a carbon assessment tool developed by Morgan Sindall.
Whichever whole life carbon tool methodology or tool you are required to use on your project, AccuRoof can provide support from a roofing perspective.
Reducing carbon emissions in your roofing projects does not have to be a chore. When you’re ready to talk to the specialists, just get in touch.
Footnotes:
[1] Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront: Coordinated action for the building and construction sector to tackle embodied carbon. World Green Building Council 2019 https://worldgbc.org/article/bringing-embodied-carbon-upfront/
[2] The UK’s plans and progress to reach net zero by 2050, House of Commons Library Research Briefing September 2024 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9888/
[3] UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard https://www.nzcbuildings.co.uk
[4] Check out or green roof systems and renewables.
[5] Calculated under the standard summer afternoon weather specified in ASTM Standard E1980-11, using the medium wind speed condition. https://heatisland.lbl.gov/coolscience/cool-roofs#Note3
[6] James, Patrick and Manfren, Massimiliano (2021) Future (p)roof: building resilience of the UK’s roofs for a changing climate. In, Building resilience of roofing technologies in a changing climate. Southampton. University of Southampton. (doi:10.5258/SOTON/P1079).
