Saving energy reduces carbon footprint and saves costs. This has always been true, but in the past, when energy costs were low and carbon emissions ignored, the incentive to invest in energy saving projects did not make economic sense at that time.
With higher energy costs today and the recognition across the globe, we must do more to reduce our global warming by reducing carbon emissions; it is now something all companies are striving to achieve. Consumers are also becoming savvy and listening to those companies who are making the biggest strides in adopting and promoting a green agenda.
In fact, most consumers are reviewing their own spending actions and trying where possible to reduce their carbon footprint, from spending on groceries to spending on holidays and hospitality. Costs aside, consumers are now making choices based on hospitality providers’ green agenda.
Sustainability, a buzz-word that may be overused and misunderstood by many, in simple terms, can be interpreted as ‘doing it once and doing it right’. Connecting this principle to the fabric of a building relates to increased insulation and reduced air permeability of the structure. Together both can offer significant savings in energy costs and, taking a ‘fabric first’ approach, should be considered as the most cost effective first step.
In ‘new build’ the current building regulations stipulate the minimum insulation requirement of windows to be a U value of 1.4 W/m²K with walls at 0.18 W/m²K, but this can be further lowered by the adoption of Passivhaus construction, which takes the insulation values down even lower to 0.8 W/m²K for windows and walls as low as 0.08 W/m²K. Together with increased levels of air tightness in the building construction, the space heating demands (or heat load) on the building can be reduced to just 15kWh/m2 of annual space heating demand, which is around 90% less than a typical UK building.
Whilst Passivhaus standard hotels are relatively new on the scene, the demand for buildings designed to this specification is on the increase with homes, offices, public buildings and student accommodation currently in use with further projects under construction.
Scotland has been quick to pick up on the rise of the Passivhaus specification and the government in Scotland have adopted this principle, stating that they will have a similar specification in Scotland brought into legislation for all new homes from the end of 2024.
But even the smallest incremental improvements in building construction can have significant impact on energy savings. Boutique hotels are in demand at the moment mixing traditional with modern amenities. The Indigo Hotel for example in Manchester combines a new build, a 15-storey circular tower, with the renovation of an existing Grade Two listed building. Architects 3DReid, who designed the 187 guest room five-star boutique hotel, specified high thermal performance windows and curtain wall systems from Aluprof UK for the development.
Another stunning example of refurbishment is the Bodmin Jail Hotel, designed by Twelve Architects. The 18th century prison has been completely restored and reinvented as a luxury boutique hotel. Offering seventy boutique rooms, set over four storeys, constructed from three former cells, the hotel’s each room has a story to tell of a previous inmate. The Bodmin Jail Hotel offers a full sensory accommodation experience that intertwines the imposing original architecture of the three hundred year old jail with high performance windows supplied by Aluprof UK which help keep residents cool in summer and warm in winter with airtight and thermally efficient aluminium windows that match the original style of windows used on the building.
Any hotel, which is thirty or more years old, could benefit from replacement windows and doors. Thermal breaks in aluminium windows have advanced a great deal, as have calculations of thermal insulation and air permeability through building structures. As an exercise in its own right, a full review of a hotel will reveal what savings can be made in energy usage that can be reinvested in building fabric improvements; windows are an obvious target for replacement, with payback being achieved in as little as five years.
As well as improved levels of insulation and reduced air permeability from new windows, aluminium systems now offer exceptional levels of sustainability with low levels of maintenance required. Today’s powder coated profiles and anodised finishes offer decades of life expectancy, so aluminium-framed systems are not unique to just new builds. Aluminium systems can be supplied in modern style profiles and profiles that hark back to the times when steel windows were popular, offering very slim sightlines. No matter the age of the building, an aluminium window system can be chosen to compliment the building design in appearance whilst improving energy savings and improving the hotel’s appeal.
Aluprof UK, part of Aluprof founded in Poland, have been supporting specifiers in the UK for over 15 years with advanced systems that include, windows doors and facade systems. Many UK based fabricators and installers supply these systems and are on hand to offer surveys and cost analysis as to what improvements can be made with likely paybacks.
Further information about systems and specification support is available through the company’s website at aluprof.co.uk or direct from their UK head office in Altrincham by phoning +44 (0) 161 941 4005.