Sheerframe helps University Campus meet Carbon Trust Targets - 24 October 2008
The University of Hull has installed Sheerframe PVC windows from Yorkshire
based Slimline Windows as part of its £400,000 refurbishment of its Scarborough Campus.
Hull is one of 18 more universities to join phase four of the Carbon Trust’s Higher Education Carbon Management programme (HECM), launched earlier this year in a drive to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint by 72,000 tonnes and cut energy costs by £8.1 million. As a result of the programme, energy costs at the University’s Scarborough campus will be reduced by up to 20%.
Sheerframe windowmaker, Slimline, was required to meet a stringent performance spec to achieve high energy rated windows for the exposed coastal complex and to work within tight timescales during the summer. Even though university students were on recess, the team had to work around other campus users – schools and conferences – to complete the work.300 rotting timber windows on the 1980s campus hall of residence were replaced by high performance Sheerframe 7000 PVC-u frames featuring soft coat Low E glass, argon filled sealed units and Edgetech Superspacers, achieving a B level on the BFRC DWER. The spec also required the use of austenitic hardware to cope with the hostile saline conditions of the seaside location.
To add to the complications, stairwells in the three-storey residential blocks feature curtain walling spans in arched and trapezium shapes. UK Sheerframe systems company L.B. Plastics Ltd worked closely with Slimline and the University’s own Estates team to provide the necessary wind-load data to ensure structural integrity of the curtain walling spans.The windows programme is part of a bigger refurbishment exercise that also involves miscellaneous buildings work, new floor coverings, plumbing improvements and re-decorating.
Says University of Hull’s Assistant Director of Facilities, David Thomson: “The University is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and is wholly subscribed to the Carbon Trust HECM scheme.“The location and nature of the buildings, and the timescales involved, meant we needed the combination of high-spec windows and a contractor who could work quickly, co-operatively and flexibly. In Sheerframe and Slimline we have the right combination. We’re delighted with the results.”
The University also expects the work at Scarborough and elsewhere across its estate to improve its rating in the student-driven University Green league for environmental performance.In the 2007 league, Hull came 66th out of the 102 graded establishments but its carbon emissions per head were already significantly lower than six of the top twenty performing establishments. 
