Escalating energy bills make it clear that tackling climate change by reducing energy use would create significant economic and environmental benefits. Estimates suggest that 90% of buildings standing in 2050 have already been built. Therefore, improving the energy performance of existing buildings should be a priority.

Illustrating what can be achieved with a committed refurbishment programme, the new Jaguar Land Rover Training Academy in Warwick demonstrates the environmental and economic benefits that refurbishment work can achieve.

In broad terms, the project brief involved the exterior refurbishment of an existing 50,000 sq ft building to create a bespoke new training academy that brought together two pre-existing individual facilities previously based at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, and Gaydon in Warwickshire. The finished scheme is one of the best-equipped automotive training facilities of its type, providing the very latest vehicles, components and systems for students.

The completed Academy incorporates a host of energy efficient solutions, the most significant being the specification of 268m² of CA Building Products’ SolarWall^® perforated Transpired Solar Collector (pTSC) using Corus Colorcoat Prisma^® in Aridane, and is a system which alone will contribute to enabling the refurbished building to save more than 80,000kWh and reduce CO₂ emissions by 19 tonnes per year.

Installed as an additional skin to the southerly elevation of the Academy, SolarWall^® harnesses solar radiation to heat ambient air via a perforated collector. Solar heated air is drawn from the external surface of the collector, through the perforations, before being distributed into the building where it is used to offset the buildings heating load and provide the necessary building ventilation requirement.

Alongside this, Colorcoat Prisma^® pre-finished steel was chosen for the additional skin of the SolarWall for it’s smooth, modern appearance backed by the 25 year maintenance and inspection free Confidex^® Guarantee. Ideal for the refurbishment of buildings such as this one, Colorcoat^® facilitates a far more streamlined construction process due to its flexibility, durability and ease of handling, enabling disruption to be kept to an absolute minimum to the building occupants whilst work is being carried out.