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Earlier this summer SEI announced that, from December, external wall
insulation systems must have Irish Agrément certification to be
eligible for support under the Home Energy Saving scheme. But many in
the green building sector are critical of the decision, and some are
questioning the value and purpose of Agrément. Lenny Antonelli reports.
Sustainable Energy Ireland created a small stir in the green building sector in May with an announcement that, from early June, all external wall insulation (EWI) installed under the Home Energy Saving scheme would have to be certified by the Irish Agrément Board. The IAB, a division of the National Standards Authority of Ireland, certifies construction products without a long history of use in Ireland, and for which there is no national standard. Previously EWI products with Agrément "or equivalent" certification - such as European Technical Approval - were eligible. ETA is an EU fitness-for-purpose declaration for construction products.
Following discontent at the short notice given regarding the changing requirements, SEI pushed back their introduction until 1 August. While this delay was welcomed, there remains some annoyance that only Agrément-certified products will be supported by the scheme. Various industry figures Construct Ireland spoke with queried the value of Agrément certification, and the wisdom of shutting out other forms of approval.
At the time of going to press, only two EWI systems had certs explicitly stating their suitability for refurbishment (Parex Lahabra and Baumit EWIs), though five such systems have Agrément. Building materials specialist Sto also told Construct Ireland they'd received word from that IAB that it does consider their StoTherm EWI system suitable for refurb, though its certificate specifically refers to new build.
In a detailed article in this issue of Construct Ireland (see p76) architect Joseph Little examines the Agrément certificate for Parex Lahabra EWI. He concludes that if the system is installed according to the details outlined in the certificate, the reduction in energy demand and heating bills will not be as significant as expected, and the entire refurbishment may be non-compliant with the thermal bridging requirements for renovation in the building regulations.
Referring to the latest regulations (TGD L 2007), Little says there is ambiguity surrounding the minimum standards for thermal bridging in refurb projects, with one clause advocating compliance with the onerous thermal bridging values set out in Appendix D of the regs, and another stating a mere 15mm of insulation with a lambda value of 0.04W/mK wrapped around the back of lintels, jambs and cills (different elements of a door or window frame) should be generally adequate to obtain compliance in these areas. He calls for the uncertainty to be cleared up in the next revision to part L of the regs.
Little concludes that if Parax Lahabra EWI system is installed according to the details specified in the Agrément certificate, it can meet neither of the clauses. He adds that: "The details shown in the Agrément cert, if applied literally, cause the heat loss (W/K) through junctions of the wall assembly to almost treble." His calculations suggest that a house using the insulation as the cert specifies would suffer from a thermal bridge at the eaves 17 greater than that specified in Appendix D. Little also concludes there would be a marginal risk of condensation to the sill of the house if the EWI is installed as per the cert.
Parex Lahabra EWI is certified by the IAB to "remain effective" in refurbishment projects for at least 30 years if designed, installed and maintained according to its Agrément certificate. The Department of Environment require any new house issued with a floor area compliance certificate - necessary for it to qualify for stamp duty exemption - to have a design life of 60 years given normal maintenance, and the IAB will certify construction products to this length of time. The Department of Environment's 'Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities' guidelines also advise that residential dwellings have a service life of 60 years. The 60 year requirement, and the issuing of Agrément certificates designed to verify that products meet it, has proven somewhat contentious in the green building sector, where many see it as a hinderance to the uptake of innovative green building products.
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