It is important for architects to think beyond insulation for optimal building performance and to look holistically at warehouse or cold store projects, says Tony Wall, MD of ISD Solutions.  By bringing together smart design, experience, expert delivery and proven know-how, he believes a cost reduction of up to 20%^[1] can be achieved whilst delivering virtually airtight, high-performing buildings with low lifetime running costs. 

Architects’ design skills are needed to calculate the correct level and type of insulation to achieve optimal thermal efficiency and fire protection (if required).  Other challenges for architects are to ensure that buildings remain virtually airtight while accommodating up to 40mm shrinkage and expansion, with air leakage levels below the guidelines set by the International Association for Cold Storage Construction.

At a time when utility costs are rising, inefficient facilities will need to be replaced or upgraded.  For cold stores, supermarket distribution and logistics companies the energy-saving characteristics and reduced construction costs of insulation have never been so important.

Traditional cold storage warehouses effectively involve the construction of two buildings, one inside the other.  The resulting void between the envelope and the internal cold store roof may require fire prevention, heating/cooling and air-handling, all of which will add to the capital investment.

A traditional build can be time consuming to construct and not particularly sustainable or thermally efficient.  A pioneering, single envelope construction technique using cold store specification insulated composite panels as the construction medium is completely changing conventional warehouse design, enabling architects to demonstrate value and bring significant savings to developers and operators alike.

Design efficiency

Careful attention to detail at the design stage ensures optimal performance of the building in the longer term.  A careful assessment of location, wind loadings and temperature cycles is required to ensure warehouse design can safely accommodate normal shrinkage and expansion of up to 40mm and still remain virtually airtight.  It is essential to minimise the effects of ‘thermal bowing’, the physical distortion of wall panels as the exterior metal skin heats up in the sun, while the cold interior face contracts.

With a potential temperature differences of 60 degrees on a hot summer’s day, how the composite panels are fixed in place and the design of junctions, connections and fixings are critical.  A fully-automated high-bay frozen warehouse, operated by Partner Logistics in Cambridgeshire, was designed to operate down to temperatures of -25 degrees Centigrade.  Containing a staggering 77,000 pallets of frozen food the warehouse, combined with the loading and picking building, required over 36,000m² of composite panels.

Build efficiency

Single envelope warehouses and cold stores can be constructed around 20% faster than traditional builds when using cold store specification composite roof and wall panels. The inherent strength and spanning characteristics of these modern composite panels significantly reduce the requirement for secondary steelwork, representing a real cost saving.  The panels themselves are made from a low-carbon material.  Another aspect of build efficiency is a high bay design resulting in a much smaller footprint which can reduce land requirements by 4-5 times.

Significant savings in build cost and maintenance 

Apart from requiring lower capital investment at the outset, a single envelope cold storage facility requires an estimated 30% fewer raw materials.  It can also deliver significantly lower long-term running costs than a traditional build.  This is due to increased thermal efficiency and air-tightness of the single envelope, which minimises the need to run duplicate services for a ‘building within a building’.

Fire and safety

The airtightness of a building enables reduced levels of oxygen to be maintained within the envelope, down from 21% to 15%.  This means that personnel can work as normal – but fire cannot sustain momentum, so expensive fire prevention sprinkler systems are not needed.

Where required, steel-faced composite panels can be used in fire wall applications.  Fire separation, between chambers of a warehouse with excellent fire resistance, can be achieved from 60 to 240 minutes.

Minimal air leakage levels that benefit the environment

Aside from the environmental benefits of a smaller physical footprint, fewer raw materials used in construction, and higher levels of thermal efficiency, the cold store spec single envelope design achieves WRAP and BREEAM targets by using low carbon composite panels with a reduced ‘global warming potential’ (GWP).  The thermal qualities of these metal-faced composite panels keep temperatures constant and virtually airtight, regulating heat loss and gains to reduce a building’s energy consumption.  Solar PV systems can be incorporated to improve energy efficiency even further, as was the case with Aldi’s new 52,000m² distribution centre at Goldthorpe, designed to operate 24/7, 365 days a year.  Minimal air leakage levels were regularly achieved at below 0.1m³ per hour per m² at a pressure of 50 pascals.  On the IDA Business Park in Grange Castle in Dublin, leading Spanish pharmaceutical and healthcare giant Grifols, commissioned ISD to construct a temperature-controlled clad-rack structure to provide centralized storage and distribution for blood plasma products.  9,000m² PIR insulated panels were erected by over 500 construction workers to create a high-bay frozen chamber operating down to -35 degrees C and an adjacent 35m high-chilled storage area.  An efficient air-tight structure was crucial and Grifols’ buildings have achieved test measurements of 0.4m3 /hour/m2 at 50 Pascals for both chambers.  Both Aldi and Grifols’ buildings far exceed the 0.5m³ design guidelines set by the International Association for Cold Storage Construction.  These environmental factors significantly improve carbon reporting for both organisations.

In conclusion

With more cold store specification single envelope projects already underway, there is growing interest across the warehousing, cold storage and retail distribution sectors in these innovative and sophisticated, thermally-efficient, low-carbon storage solutions.

ISD Solutions
Unit A 125 Business Park
Llanthony Road
Gloucester
Gloucestershire GL2 5JQ
Telephone: 01452 520 649
Fax: 01452 301 910/01452 312 684
Email: sales@isd-solutions.co.uk

About ISD Solutions

ISD Solutions is the UK’s leading contractor in composite panel construction and cladding projects from cold stores, food processing facilities & distribution centres to clean rooms & data centres. A pioneer in thermally efficient, single envelope construction, ISD also offers a full range of modular cold store solutions for the grocery, hospitality and pharmaceutical sectors. A diverse customer base of blue chip organisations includes Ocado, Aldi, Partner Logistics, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.

New capabilities include a cold store maintenance division providing planned maintenance or emergency call out for temperature critical storage facilities and a new Industrial Waterproofing division covering roofing projects as well as bridge decks, loading bays and car parks.

With offices and manufacturing facilities in Gloucester, ISD’s design teams work closely with architects, specifiers, consultants, main contractors and end clients from an early stage to give specialist advice and recommend solutions, based on multi-discipline experience, to accelerate tight project deadlines and improve cost efficiency.

ISD Solutions is an active member of the IACSC (International Association for Cold Storage Construction (European Division), and has accreditations from Achilles, LPCB (LPS 1500, 1531), Safe Contractor and Investors in People.

For more information about ISD Solutions visit:

http://www.isd-solutions.co.uk

http://www.isd-modularcoldrooms.co.uk/

http://www.isd-coldstoremaintenance.co.uk/

[1] Up to 20% savings in building costs, faster project completion and reduced operating costs for the end client, with improved sustainability credentials:  independently assessed by Davis Langdon, global construction specialists.