A primary school in Perthshire has become the first building in the UK to benefit from the outstanding thermal performance of Kingspan Insulation’s OPTIM-R E Roofing System.

The £11 million facility provides space for 434 pupils along with a new nursery for 50 children and is expected to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. The scheme was designed to deliver the best whole life value, prioritising passive design principles and energy demand reduction measures ahead of complex and costly renewable energy technologies.

The new school building includes a large roof terrace which adjoins the main staff room. To maintain level access to this area, whilst also meeting the project’s demanding U-value requirements, the project team needed an ultra-slim, optimum performance insulation product. The solution was the all new Kingspan OPTIM-R E Roofing System.

Kingspan OPTIM-R E is the latest evolution in vacuum insulation technology. It comprises a Kingspan OPTIM-R panel encapsulated within a high performance PIR insulation board, delivering a thermal conductivity of 0.009 W/m.K — up to three times better than commonly used insulation materials.

The product’s robust envelope provided complete protection for the vacuum insulation core during the installation, allowing the expert team from Advance Building Contracts to quickly fit the 80mm thick panels. OPTIM-R flex infill strips of the same thickness were then cut to size and fitted around the outer perimeter of the balcony and around a central drainage penetration.

Kingspan Insulation’s specialist OPTIM-R design team created a tailored layout for the OPTIM-R E roofing system. This ensured the best possible ratio of Kingspan OPTIM-R E panels to OPTIM-R flex infill strips, allowing the target U-value to be met with a minimal construction depth.