PRESS
OFFICE - The Thermal Mass question – is cast stone the answer?
Specifiers
need to think ahead and use materials that will withstand
Britain’s changing climate and last into the future.
As global temperatures begin to rise, the construction
industry is responding by increasing the “thermal
mass” of buildings. This is because buildings with
high thermal mass (or capacity) are slower to respond
to outside temperature changes, meaning that they stay
cooler in hot weather. This often removes the need to
fit air conditioning.
Once high thermal mass capacity buildings have warmed
up, they are able to retain heat for longer, and use less
energy for heating during winter months. With rising fuel
bills, the ability of buildings to stay warmer in colder
weather becomes more important.
High thermal mass is most simply achieved by building
thicker walls from heavyweight, dense materials, and adding
smaller windows to reduce the amount of heat entering
or escaping from the building. Haddonstone is a blend
of crushed limestone, cement and binders and is available
in a dry-cast and wet-cast (TecStone) mix. The material
is heavy and dense - perfect for increasing the thermal
mass of buildings.
At
the same time as the thermal mass trend gains momentum,
increasingly stringent health and safety guidelines are
forcing developers to look for building materials which
are as thin and light as possible.
As well as producing a heavyweight material, the company
has also introduced TecLite, a thinner and lighter alternative
to Haddonstone. Using GRC technology and thin wall construction,
TecLite is as strong and versatile as standard Haddonstone.
Haddonstone
has shown itself to be at the forefront of technology,
as both materials look almost identical and can therefore
be used on the same project. For example, standard Haddonstone
could be used at ground and first floor level on buildings,
with TecLite used at parapet or roof level to reduce the
dangers of working with heavy materials at height.
Specifiers
need to think ahead and use materials that will withstand
Britain’s changing climate and last into the future.
As global temperatures begin to rise, the construction
industry is responding by increasing the “thermal
mass” of buildings. This is because buildings with
high thermal mass (or capacity) are slower to respond
to outside temperature changes, meaning that they stay
cooler in hot weather. This often removes the need to
fit air conditioning.
At
the same time as the thermal mass trend gains momentum,
increasingly stringent health and safety guidelines are
forcing developers to look for building materials which
are as thin and light as possible. 
Haddonstone
has shown itself to be at the forefront of technology,
as both materials look almost identical and can therefore
be used on the same project. For example, standard Haddonstone
could be used at ground and first floor level on buildings,
with TecLite used at parapet or roof level to reduce the
dangers of working with heavy materials at height.