According to the energy efficiency office, up to 50 per cent of a building's heat is lost through its walls. Middlesborough based Walltransform Ltd is developing a new Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) superinsulation system to address the problem. The firm claims that the new systems high insulation properties will help the building industry to create homes that require virtually no heating and produce lower CO2 emissions as a result.
The innovation is an adaptation of the technology more commonly found in thermos flasks, refrigerators and freezers. The incredible insulation properties of VIPs make it possible for buildings to retain heat thanks to a construction based on high quality thermal insulation combined with a totally air and vapour tight layer.
Glenn Melvin, director of Walltransform, estimates that over seven million uninsulated solid wall homes in the UK could benefit from the firm's invention and in particular four million fuel poor dwellings. According to Melvin each square metre of insulation could save one tonne of carbon dioxide over the lifetime of a building.
The International Energy Agency believes VIPs have the potential to provide ten times the insulation value of current insulating materials in use today, for the same thickness. Once its system is running successfully in the UK, Walltransform has ambitious plans to market the idea in Europe.