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Council Housing, Manchester

12 Oct 2011
Case study
The first Council homes to be built in Manchester for 20 years are optimizing energy efficiency through innovation from Glidevale Ltd.

Designed by architects Bowker Sadler and built by The Cruden Group, the 32 two-bedroomed bungalows are set to achieve Level 4 under the Code for Sustainable Homes, using energy efficient features including Glidevale Sunscoop tubular rooflights, which will optimize natural daylight within the hallways during the day without the need for electrical light.

Glidevale’s Sunscoop is innovatively designed with highly reflective tubing to connect the roof-mounted glazed dome to the diffuser set in the ceiling below. The design of the bungalows’ roofs and interior meant each roof mounted flashing had to be installed close to a valley and ridge between two adjacent roofs, with the connecting tubes threaded between the roof’s structural timbers to achieve as straight a line as possible to the diffuser mounted in the hallway ceiling. Alternative, similar tubular rooflights could not be installed without impinging on the integrity of the flashing for a weathertight seal, and with several bends in the tubing, each of which would reduce the final amount of natural light reaching the hall.

As a result, a 350mm dia Sunscoop SR95 is being installed in each of the 32 homes.
Nick Thawley, Cruden site manager, observed, “The homes incorporate a range of sustainable solutions to optimize energy efficiency, including timber frames, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery ventilation, solar panels, and the Sunscoops.

Glidevale’s Sunscoop was the only tubular rooflight we could find that could meet the design and installation criteria without any adverse effect on the amount of light within. The design of its flashing is compact, enabling us to locate the Sunscoop directly above the centre of the hallway below, maximizing light whilst minimizing fittings and installation time.”

Glidevale’s Sunscoop is available in a range of sizes, can be fitted to pitched or flat roofs, and incorporates a range of roof flashings in a choice of colours to optimise ease of fitting and blending with the roof fabric. For pitched roofs there is also the option of an in-line or traditional ‘skylight’ roof flashing. Uniquely, the Sunscoop glazing and flashings are all AA fire rated, enabling use without restriction in number, spacing, position or proximity to neighbouring properties.

Sunscoop is a key element of Glidevale’s range of rooflights, roof ventilation solutions and building membranes, all developed to provide innovative yet practical solutions to changing market demands whilst accommodating Regulatory requirements.