Woodknowledge Wales

Woodknowledge Wales

Inspiring innovation through collaboration

Events

26th January 2023 – Rethinking IWI with Natural Fibre Insulation

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Join ASBP and members of our Natural Fibre Insulation Group for a deep dive session into thermal upgrades to solid walls using natural fibre insulation internally.

Our experts will explain the impact of insulation depth on energy savings, thermal comfort and humidity balance within the fabric. The event will help in realigning our perception of how we should be internally insulating solid walls and brings us a step closer to truly tackling the enormous retrofit challenge our country faces.

  • Relationship between insulation thickness and energy savings and maximising ROI.
  • Impact of insulation type and depth on condensation risk.
  • Importance and influence of thermal mass and thermal comfort.

Key details

Date: Thursday 26th January 2023

Time: 12:30-14:00

Location: Online (Zoom)

Fees:

  • Free for ASBP members
  • Free for architects, designers and specifiers!
  • £20 +VAT for members of partner orgs*
  • £30 +VAT for non-members

*ACAN, AECB, Building Performance Network, BWF, CIBSE, Fit for the Future, FIS, Good Homes Alliance, natureplus, Retrofit Works, Passivhaus Trust, SuperHomes, STBA, The Green Register and Woodknowledge Wales.

Registration

For more information and to register, visit https://asbp.org.uk/events/iwi-natural-fibre

18th Jan 2023 – Passivhaus Social Housing Event

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An exciting Passivhaus Trust Event focused on the delivery of Social Housing

Date and Time: Wed, 18 January 2023, 14:00 – 17:00 GMT

Discover more about why Passivhaus is being adopted by so many local councils and how to deliver high standards at scale. This is a free event for social housing providers.

Session 1 – Why choose Passivhaus

The move towards net zero, energy demand, and energy supply capacity – Sarah Lewis, Passivhaus Trust
The benefits of living in a Passivhaus – occupant views
Why not just have a “nearly Passivhaus” (Passivhaus principles vs certification)- Joel Callow, Beyond Carbon

Session 2 – How to deliver Passivhaus

The cost implications of early-stage design decisions
Getting contractors on Board, building up a supply chain
Case studies – Ashmi Thapar, Bell Philips Architects
Dealing with rising costs in the current market

For more information and to register visit the link below:

https://bit.ly/3IJF9Ok

Natural Fibre Insulation Summit 2022

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Join The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) and members of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group on Thursday 3rd November, 2-4pm for the inaugural Natural Fibre Insulation Summit.

This event is Free for ASBP members AND for local authorities and housing associations. Discounted tickets are available for Woodknowledge Wales members and other partner organisations*.

What you will learn

  • Find out why natural fibre insulation (NFI) is the most sustainable insulation choice.
  • Hear from industry experts on why natural fibre insulation is the fastest growing segment of the insulation market and how industry can keep up with demand.
  • Be introduced to the leading players in the sector including both established and up-and-coming brands.
  • Discover the benefits of NFI for clients, contractors and architects.
  • Get practical advice on how to insulate floors, roofs and walls, with a detailed practical presentation for external wall insulation (EWI).
  • Find out how natural fibre insulation can help solve the retrofit challenge.

Speakers and programme

Hear from members of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group, which includes the leading manufacturers, suppliers and installers of NFI in the UK. For the past 5 years this collective of ASBP members has worked collaboratively to better communicate the multiple benefits of natural insulation, via knowledge sharing events, exhibitions, peer-reviewed briefing papers, and representation at Environmental Audit Committee inquiries.

14:00 Welcome from ASBP – Mark Lynn, Vice-Chair, ASBP/Chair, ASBP Natural Fibre Insulation Group and Managing Director, Eden Renewable Innovations Ltd/Thermafleece

14:10 Introduction to the Natural Fibre Insulation Group members

14:20 The benefits of natural fibre insulation for clients, contractors and architects – Neil Turner, UK Technical Sales Manager, Ecological Building Systems

14:35 Natural fibre insulation: The sustainable choice – Umendra Singh (Umi), Technical Expert – Bio-based Systems, Soprema North Europe  

14:50 Natural fibre insulation in practice: Overview of applications – Chris Brookman, Director, Back to Earth

15:00 Example of application: External Wall Insulation (EWI) – Lime Green Products

15:15 Natural fibre insulation – The retrofit solution and looking beyond U-values – Martin Twamley, Technical Director, STEICO UK

15:30 Panel discussion

– Why are so many people now specifying NFI?

– How do we keep up with demand?

16:00 Close

Key details

Date: Thursday 3rd November 2022

Time: 14:00-16:00

Location: Online (Zoom)

Fees: Free for ASBP members; Free for local authorities and housing associations; £25 +VAT for members of Woodknowledge Wales and other partner organisations*; £40 +VAT for non-members. 

*ACAN, AECB, Building Performance Network, BWF, CIBSE, Fit for the Future, FIS, Good Homes Alliance, natureplus, Passivhaus Trust, SuperHomes, STBA, The Green Register and Woodknowledge Wales.

Registration

For more information and to register, visit https://asbp.org.uk/events/nfi-summit-2022.

October 10th 2022 – Delivering Domestic BPE in a Digital + Data-Driven World – On-Construction

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Building performance evaluation has a reputation of being longwinded, intrusive and complicated. Established techniques often require residents to vacate a property, that tests are done over several weeks at a certain times of the year and involve convoluted equipment set-ups.

But does it have to be like this?

Technology and methods of assessment have changed significantly in the past decade. We now have new methods to rapidly assess building fabric, a proliferation of low-cost devices that can collect data about indoor environments, consumer level platforms for seeing performance data and, excitingly, new facilities that can recreate a wide variety of weather conditions so we can investigate how assets and product perform in a controlled environment.

In this seminar, we will focus on the use of digital building performance evaluation in the construction phase of a building’s lifecycle. Our speakers will demonstrate and discuss the art of the possible, helping housing clients and BPE practitioners to understand the art of the possible, developing better skills, better processes and achieve better outcomes.

Programme

15:00 Opening – George Martin, BPN

15:10 Are we more digital? What has changed in the last 10 years – William Box, Carnego Systems

15: 25 Energy House 2.0 Rapid Assessment of Whole House Performance – Prof Richard Fitton, University of Salford

15:40 New technology solutions to age old measurement needs – Luke Smith, Build Test Solutions

15:55 What rapid technology testing means for a major house builder – Doug Drewniak, Willmott Dixon

16:10 Rapid testing: Portascanner Airtight 520 – Bernard Hornung and Daniel Dobrowolski, Coltraco Ultrasonics

16:25 On-construction BPE Q&A / panel session

16:45 Closing remarks

16:55 End

Booking

Please visit our EventBrite page to book your place: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/delivering-domestic-bpe-in-a-digital-data-driven-world-on-construction-tickets-414131206587

BPN Members: FREE!

Non-Members: £30+VAT

Partner* Members: £15+VAT (Including Woodknowledge Wales Members)

*our partners are GHA, WoodKnowledge Wales, PHT, ASBP, STBA, SuperHomes, AECB

Details

Date: 10/10/2022

Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

July 13th 2022 – How to retrofit walls externally with natural insulation

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‘How-to’ event introducing the use of natural insulation as a solution to the external insulation of walls.

About this event

The UK has 28.5m homes, and some of the oldest homes in Europe. Wales has 1.35m or 5% of UK homes and almost a third were built before 1919. Most are of solid wall construction and nearly half of them have no wall insulation.

This has to change. But insulating walls externally in a way that protects both the health of the occupants and the building is not straightforward. The purpose of this ‘how-to’ event is to introduce the use of natural insulation as a solution to the external insulation of walls.

Audience: Housing development and asset management professionals, architects, contractors, students

Format: Online (via Zoom)

Speakers: Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd), Mark Lynn (Thermafleece), Simon Ayres (Lime Green)

PROGRAMME

10.00 What are the challenges of internal wall insulation? – Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd)

10.30 How does natural insulation help? – Mark Lynn, Thermafleece & Chair of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group

11.00 How do you install it? – Simon Ayres, Lime Green

11.20 Q&A

11.30 Close

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This online event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 13/07/2022

Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

July 6, 2022 – How to retrofit walls internally with natural insulation

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‘How-to’ event introducing the use of natural insulation as a solution to the internal insulation of walls.

There are approximately 28.5 million homes in the UK consisting of the oldest housing in Europe. Wales has 5% of the UK housing which in turn is the oldest in the UK, with 32% of buildings constructed before 1919 and therefore predominantly solid wall. Approximately 50% of Wales 1.35 million homes have no wall insulation. This has to change. But insulating solid walls internally in a way that protects the health of the occupants and the building is not straightforward. The purpose of this ‘how-to’ event is to introduce the use of natural insulation as a solution to the internal insulation of walls.

Audience: Housing development and asset management professionals, architects, contractors, students

Format: Online (via Zoom)

Speakers: Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd), Martin Twamley (Steico), Chris Brookman (Back to Earth)

PROGRAMME

10.00 Welcome and Introduction – Gary Newman, Woodknowledge Wales

10.10 What are the challenges of internal wall insulation? – Nick Heath, NDM Heath Ltd

10.30 How does natural insulation help? – Martin Twamley, Steico

10.50 How do you install it? – Chris Brookman, Back to Earth

11.10 Q&A

11.30 Close

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 06/07/2022

Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

June 23, 2022 – How to sustainably produce the timber we need for a zero-carbon Wales

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Interactive forest walk looking at how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society.

“Wood is the only advanced industrial material that we can use more of and mitigate climate change at the same time” – Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James MS.

As simple as this sounds, it poses a challenge. Today, most of our construction timber is imported. Reforesting Wales with a proportion of timber producing species is complex and poorly understood.

At this unique event you will gain an understanding of the past, present and future of Welsh forestry, and how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society. The day includes an interactive forest walk where you will be able to learn from experts with a life-long passion for growing trees and processing wood.

Location: Woodlands at Llangoed, Brecon, Wales, LD3 0NP

Woodknowledge Wales is delighted to have been invited to visit the private woodlands at Llangoed. These woodlands are an integral part of a traditional estate and have been predominantly managed to provide timber. The woodlands have won a number of prestigious awards over the years and recently won the Royal Forestry Society regional award for excellence in silviculture. The private Estate focuses on the best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, combined with respect for significant biodiversity. The Estate’s aim to grow the highest yielding, best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, with a clear focus on producing timber (some up to 60cm diameter) with the aim of providing a regular income

Format: In person event – max. 25 places

Speakers: Chris Jones (Forestry Specialist) and Dainis Dauksta (Wood Science Specialist)

PROGRAMME

  • AM Guided Forest Walk
  • PM Theory session with Q&A

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 23/06/2022

Time: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

June 21, 2022 – How to plan and execute Building Performance Evaluation for retrofit

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BPE challenge of retrofit, from initial surveying through modelling solutions, installing measures and managing the asset into the future.

To meet our targets for reducing carbon we have to focus on the homes we’ve already built as well as the ones we’re building now.

Our existing homes pose a particular challenge because of the way they’ve been built, the materials used in building and the limits they place on retrofit potential. We need to learn how to apply the techniques and tools of building performance evaluation (BPE) if we are to maximise this potential.

This webinar will look at the particular BPE challenge of retrofit with timber, from initial surveying to understand the opportunities to insulate, ventilate and heat, through modelling solutions, installing measures and managing the assets into the future – so the retrofit both raises and maintains the performance of the building. It will include contributions on measuring existing building performance, modelling and designing interventions and how to deal with moisture – one of the biggest risk areas in retrofit.

Audience: Housing development and asset management professionals, architects, surveyors, students

Format: Online (via Zoom)

Speakers: Richard Jack (Build Test Solutions), Hannah Jones (Greengauge), Toby Cambray (UCL/Greengauge),  Diana Waldron (Woodknowledge Wales)

PROGRAMME

10.00    Introduction – Diana Waldron (Woodknowledge Wales)

10.10    BPE practical steps for retrofitting projects: Measuring the “before” and “after” interventions: Case studies – Richard Jack (Build Test Solutions)

10.30    Practical and technical challenges of Retrofitting: Building survey and simulation case studies – Hannah Jones (Greengauge)

10.50    Moisture Risks in Retrofit: Focused on the use of Timber – Tony Cambray (UCL / Greenguage)

11.10    Q&A

11.30    Close

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 21/06/2022

Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

June 17, 2022 – How to create buildings that work: techniques for measuring building performance

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Practical steps for measuring how buildings are performing in reality that can be adopted by housing providers and their design teams.

The period of low-cost energy is over. To address ‘affordable warmth’ as well as our climate change obligations we need to use a lot less energy and at the same time switch to renewable forms of energy.

How do we successfully deliver higher performance building fabric, shift rapidly to renewables and get it right? An essential step on this journey is to measure and understand how our buildings are performing in reality. Building Performance Evaluation is rapidly becoming a central feature of creating better buildings that work. This ‘How To’ event will demonstrate practical methods for measuring how our homes and buildings are performing in reality that can be understood and adopted by housing providers and their design teams.

The BPE monitoring techniques used during this workshop include:

  • Pulse Test (Air Tightness)
  • SmartHTC (whole building heat loss)
  • Heat Flow Plates (u-values)

Audience: Housing development professionals, architects, surveyors, students

Format: In person event – max. 20 places

Speakers: Richard Jack (BTS) and Diana Waldron (Woodknowledge Wales)

PROGRAMME

Part 1 Theory: 

Theory, Case Studies and Q&A of the various BPE techniques 

Part 2 Practice: 

Demonstration and hands-on use of the equipment within real buildings undergoing testing.

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 17/06/2022

Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Location: Creuddyn, Pontfaen Road, Lampeter, SA48 7BN

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June 8, 2022 – How to manufacture advanced timber frame panels for high performance buildings

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How-to training event on the techniques of high-performance closed panel timber frame and injection of natural insulation< Timber frame construction is evolving fast. Ever increasing energy performance standards are driving rapid innovation in how we conceive and deliver timber frame construction. This is exemplified by a shift from open panel to the more exacting requirements of the thermally broken closed panel construction method. Furthermore, ecological, health and resource considerations are accelerating the shift away from petrochemical products to more natural and resource efficient solutions. This ‘how-to’ training event will introduce participants to the techniques of high-performance closed panel timber frame, manufactured to meet the demanding Passivhaus standard and will include the injection of natural insulation. Audience: Housing development professionals, architects, contractors, timber frame manufacturers, students

Speakers: James Moxey (Woodknowledge Wales), Jasper Meade (PYC)

Format: Blended event offering in person and online participation (via Zoom).

  • Online tickets: 100 places (11am-12.30pm)
  • In person tickets: 20 places (11am-15.30pm)

PROGRAMME

Part 1 Theory (in person and online)

11.00 Advanced panel design

11.30 Injecting Cellulose Insulation

12.00 Q&A

12.30 Close

Part 2 Practice (in person only)

13.30 Practical Workshop: Advanced timber frame manufacturing including design, assembly, taping, and injecting natural insulation.

15.30 Close

This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

REGISTRATION

This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

Event details

Date: 08/06/2022

Time: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm