A quantifiable means of achieving BREEAM(*) points is being pioneered by Hambleside Danelaw, via its Zenon GRP rooflights.
Manufactured in the UK, Zenon GRP in-plane rooflights are the first of their kind to attain an independently assessed Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The accreditation enables a contribution of 1.5 points towards a building’s BREEAM rating. Zenon’s EPD applies to a range of site-assembled and composite panel rooflight configurations.
“Rooflights have always been acknowledged as contributing towards BREEAM, but it has always been an intangible element,” explains Paul Hanratty, Hambleside Danelaw National Sales Manager Rooflights. “The EPD makes that contribution tangible, quantifiable; it gives reliable evidence.”
The EPD points come under BREEAM’s Materials (Mat 02) category when used as part of a metal roof. Rooflights can contribute towards credits in two Materials subcategories (Mat 01 and Mat 03), plus under the Energy (Ene 01) and Health & Wellbeing (Hea 01) categories- the three highest rated sections of BREEAM.
Adds Paul Hanratty, “The concept of rooflights being able to quantifiably contribute towards a BREEAM rated project in this way is a major innovation for the market. It provides massive potential for a change in the way we conceive, plan and construct the roofs of commercial and industrial buildings, in the private and public sector.
“Most importantly, it will change the perception, and emphasise the importance of thinking of rooflights as more than just a ‘hole in the roof’ when specifying the roof components- whether in new build, fit out or refurbishment.”
Under BREEAM, when Zenon GRP rooflights are incorporated by Concept Design RIBA stage 2 (essential for any calculation based credits such as Ene 01 and Mat 01), the contribution is easy to apply and the rooflight inclusion generates little or no cost. If not included in the original design, they can be added a later stage of the procurement process to recover credits that may have been lost elsewhere in the original plan.
Hambleside Danelaw’ EPD is the company’s latest pioneering development; it grants a guaranteed contribution to BREEAM rated industrial and commercial projects in the UK when specifying Zenon GRP rooflights. The company has a 40+ year heritage of developing innovative yet practical GRP and polypropylene solutions that are fully compliant with appropriate Regulations for the domestic, commercial and industrial roofing sectors.
*BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method