College "reflects" on benefits of Sarnafil system

A state-of-the-art Sarnafil White SR (Solar Reflective) membrane is maximising the performance of a new solar roofing system installed on Banff and Buchan College in Fraserburgh, Scotland. 

The college is undergoing a two-year £20 million transformation due for completion in early 2012, which sees the existing campus building, first built in 1973, significantly refurbished and extended. With the college keen to reduce its carbon footprint and running costs, a solar roofing system was a natural part of the brief for Scottish architectural practice CDA’s Glasgow branch. 

Sarnafil registered contractor Briggs Amasco installed approximately 2,500 sq m of Sarnafil single ply membranes to the various roofs that make up the college’s new entrance wing, while the solar aspect was installed by Renewable Resources. Part refurbishment and part new build, the roofs feature areas of Sarnafil S327-18EL membrane in Light Grey, as well as the White SR membrane and solar system. 

Boasting the highest CIGS solar reflectance factor on the market of 95 percent, Sarnafil’s White SR membrane boosts the effectiveness of the cylindrical solar system chosen, which is capable of harvesting 360 degrees of sunlight. Greatly increasing the amount of power generated per square metre of useable roof space compared to conventional rigid flat PV panels, this represents maximum return on investment. 

Commenting on the new solar roof completed with Sarnafil single ply, CDA’s Lucy Addison says: “The system was chosen mainly because of its low weight, as this was added as an enhancement after the steel frame had been erected. The additional weight of a ballasted panel system would incur alterations to steelwork inside the building. We also wanted to minimise penetrations into the Sarnafil membrane. Various options were looked into and a report undertaken giving costs and likely performance, etc, and at the end of this the system was chosen by the college.”

Thanks in part to the use of Sarnafil’s White SR membrane, the solar system is expected by Renewable Resources to produce around 16,000kWh of energy per annum. This means that, assuming the college uses 100 percent of the electricity on site, the system will pay for itself in around nine years, providing 16 years of additional income from the Retail Price Index (RPI)-linked Feed-in Tariff applicable at the time of installation. 

What’s more, the Sarnafil single ply used across the roofs not only benefits from an independently assessed BBA-certified life expectancy, which states a life in ‘excess of’ 40 years in its opinion, but also protection from wind uplift – a key concern in light of the college’s remote, exposed location. 

www.challengeustoday.co.uk/solar.

Picture: A Sarnafil White Solar Reflective membrane is maximising the performance of a solar roofing system installed on Banff and Buchan College

SIKA Sarnafil

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