Hunter Health Center of East Kilbride

In 2008, CLIMAVER Plus R, a pre-insulated lightweight ducting system from Saint-Gobain ISOVER, has delivered significant cost savings on its first UK application - the installation of a new heating and ventilating system as part of the renovation of the Hunter Health Care centre

Fitting new ductwork within the 1970s concrete panel construction Hunter Health Centre on Andrew Street, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, presented a particular challenge to Glasgow-based Hulley & Kirkwood Consulting Engineers. While the new air handling unit could be housed in an existing plant room, there was no available space in the suspended ceiling or floor cavity in which to install the ductwork. A further complication was that the building’s existing timber-framed flat roof, although sound, lacked the strength to support the weight of conventional externally mounted galvanised steel ducting. The only option – apart from strengthening or replacing the roof, which would have been costly and time-consuming - was to find a lightweight alternative.

The solution was ISOVER’s CLIMAVER Plus R, a Class O fire-rated pre-insulated rigid ductwork system that is approximately one-fifth the weight of conventional steel ductwork and is manufactured from high-density glass mineral wool board faced on both sides with a robust aluminium foil surface that acts as a vapour barrier. The external surface is also reinforced with a glass fibre mesh for additional impact resistance and flexural rigidity. CLIMAVER® Plus R also achieves Euroclass B fire classification. Euroclass is the harmonised European classification system for products, measuring their reaction to fire, and is intended to replace old national standards such as British Standards. For reference, the European Supplement to UK Building Regulations asks for a minimum of: B-s3-d2 as an alternative to current Class O. CLIMAVER® Plus R performs better than this.

Hugh McArthur, mechanical engineer with Hulley & Kirkwood, explained: “CLIMAVER Plus R has a weight of 1.6 kg/m², standard 0.8mm galvanised ductwork a weight of 6.2 kg/m². If you add on thermal insulation at 1.6kg/m², this gives a total of 7.8kg/m² for conventional ductwork. CLIMAVER Plus R therefore, is about one-fifth of the weight of conventional ductwork and insulation.”

Despite its widespread use on mainland Europe for many years, the Hunter Health Centre project was the first UK application of CLIMAVER Plus R. ISOVER has now established a CLIMAVER team to market and provide technical support for the system in the UK. “We found it a very tidy system and easy to manufacture. The jointing method is especially straightforward and made the fabrication quick and easy,” said AMS managing director Bill Anderson. “We do not suggest that CLIMAVER Plus R will replace traditional ducting in all applications but the Hunter Health Centre was crying out for the system. Where weight is a factor or space is limited, it has huge advantages,” said Jeff Galloway ISOVER’s specification manager. “It also has excellent acoustic performance and a good environmental profile since it is up to 80% recycled glass,” he added.

Discover CLIMAVER PLUS R, one of the best solution for HVAC insulation.