Kingspan Insulated Panels products have played a major role in a groundbreaking new £50 million logistics centre at Chatterley Valley in North Staffordshire. The 36,024 m2 Blue Planet building near Newcastle-under-Lyme uses a range of renewable technologies and has become the first ever building to achieve a BREEAM “Outstanding” rating.

Developed by Gazeley, who worked closely with the local authority and development agency, sustainability was at the top of the agenda and led to the inclusion of cutting-edge features such as a biomass-generator that will create extra power for local homes and kinetic plates along access roads, which generate power whenever vehicles pass over them.

Kingspan products feature across the building envelope and have helped to fulfil a number of important design and performance demands. Steve Hall, contracts director at cladding contractor FK Roofing explains further that “all aspects of the project needed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. For example, a building envelope air tightness rate of 2m³/hr/m² was demanded to help reduce heating demands and in practice the Kingspan products helped to make this even better at 1.8m³/hr/m². The company also did their bit to minimise site waste by recycling pallets and plastic packaging.

“It was vital that we maintained the architect’s design for the building, and that it was finished by a strict deadline. Kingspan readily supplied their materials in non-standard specifications with short lead times, which together with efficient installation were big plus points.”

Achieving a BREEAM “Outstanding” rating demands excellent performance across a number of key areas, including low carbon technologies and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  The building is carbon positive and saves a projected £300,000 in running costs, with a potential major factor here the installation of the innovative Kingspan EnergiPanel system, which combines the benefits of conventional PIR composite wall cladding with solar air heating technology.

Installed across the south aspect, hollowed profiles beneath the steel facings of the panels allow the sun to warm air, which is then channelled into the building to be used as heating. The system has the potential to reduce heating costs by up to 20% and could therefore play a big role in Blue Planet’s carbon positive status.

Meanwhile, the use of Kingspan’s KS1000 RW and KS1000 MR insulated wall systems helped to ensure the building maintained its striking appearance whilst offering low U-values – down to 0.16 W/m²K in the case of KS1000 RW. Kingspan Wall-Lite was installed to maximise natural light and reduce the need for electric lighting. On the roof Kingspan KS1000 CR Curved Roof, which offers U-values down to 0.21 W/m²K, was used to allow a smooth gentle sweep to be achieved without compromising thermal performance.

Kingspan Structural Products supplied steelwork for the building and offered technical expertise in its design and development to accommodate high-tech Ethylene Tetra Fluoroethylene roof lights. These are inflated when in position to provide wide spans with superior thermal performance to traditional roof light options.

The majority of Kingspan products have an ECOsafe insulation core, containing no CFC’s or HCFC’s with a low Global Warming Potential, achieve an “A” or “A+” rating and are also fibre-free, removing the risk of loose fibres being released and causing irritation.

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