Using reflective insulation, such as Actis Hybrid products, can play a small part in helping mitigate the effects of hot summers.
Actis UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper responds to a call to government by a climate change policy group to reduce heatwave related deaths and says using reflective insulation can play a small part in helping mitigate the effects of hot summers.
Insulation specialist ACTIS has reminded architects of the importance of ensuring buildings remain cool in the summer as well as warm in winter.
This follows an appeal by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, part of the London School of Economics (LSE).
Its policy director, Bob Ward, said in a letter to the Prime Minister: “Summer heatwaves have killed thousands of people over the past few years, and many lives could have been saved by a better strategy for managing heat risks.”
Actis says that one small element which could mitigate the effects of extreme heat is to install insulation which can cool a building as well as keep it warm.
It’s UK and Ireland sales director, Mark Cooper, said: “Reflective insulation technologies have the ability to counteract heat transfer via radiation. This helps to reflect the solar heat and keep the property at a constant low relative temperature.
“However, no insulation can address the effects of solar gain through windows. This needs to be addressed by judicious use of curtains or siting the windows in strategic positions.”
His comments also address concerns raised by Professor Paul Wilkinson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who stated that insulation can exacerbate overheating.
Mark added: “With many types of insulation this can be the case, but not with reflective products.”
