Ysgol Y Graig, Anglesey County Council Wynne Construction are working with Anglesey County Council to build the first ever eco-friendly school. It has been described as a “landmark project”. The school is being built in Llangefni on Anglesey, the school will include several energy saving features which will make it extremely energy efficient. The total cost for this project will be around £3.7million. So what are the Sustainable energy saving features the schools designers have chosen and decided to use over the more traditional materials, their advantages and disadvantages and why they have used these materials? Source of information from I visited this site in the early stages of construction. They had lay the infrastructure and foundations, and were close to finishing the timber framing. We were given a tour by the site manager. After the tour and seeing the build in process I gained valuable information, this made me choose to write about the school.

A sustainable Timber Structure: Timber framing in buildings gives a building various aesthetic and structural benefits, but the main reason why they have used a timber structure is because a timber frame provides great insulation and is a quick process to build, thus making labour costs less. The disadvantages of using this method is, risk of infestation by insects, over time rotting of the wood causing fungi that is harmful to humans such as black mould, therefore would have to be treated. Also wood burns more than some other materials, making a timber frame more susceptible to fire damage. A timbre structure was the right material to use in this case and not concrete blocks or other traditional materials. Its sustainable, renewable and simply works great. I think it’s the way forward to start using this material more frequently for future purposes. Traditionally the structure of a building would be made from materials e.g. concrete blocks. The surface of these walls is then coated with plaster. The use of materials such as brick and stone can increase the thermal mass of a building, this gives increased comfort in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Buildings of this sort are more resistant to projectiles from storms due to their mass. The disadvantages are they tend to be heavy and must be built on top of a strong foundation usually reinforced concrete and its manufacture results in 7-10% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. This is more than emissions from all the aircraft around the world. The other alternative is to make it using quicklime and lime-crete. Dictionary: Aesthetic: Pleasing to the eye, Infestation: A harassing or troublesome invasion, Thermal mass: Materials that slowly release, relatively large quantities of heat per unit mass compared to other materials. Source of information from ‘

Solar photovoltaic roof tiles: These will work by converting sunlight directly into electricity. They also provide a great aesthetic benefit sad are pollution free. Dictionary: Growing Medium: Anything that a plant can grow in is considered a growing medium Membrane: A membrane resists liquid and air penetration, and is moisture vapour permeable. A Green roof: it will be planted with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium which will be planted over a waterproofing membrane. This will provide a natural habitat for plants and insects and will be able to grow, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The main benefit is its mass, this traps in heat for the winter but keeps the building cool in the summer and also acts as sound proofing. It also will help filter CO2 and other pollutants of the air around. I like the idea of having a green roof, It doesn’t look as attractive as slate or some other traditional materials, but overall it’s much more beneficial because of the reasons stated above. The traditional material for making a roof of this kind would be common slate. Slate does not possess as many benefits for the environment as a ‘green roof’ would. The remainder of this roof was covered with common Welsh slate. Nowadays local (Welsh) slate is very expensive to purchase, this forces the majority of buyers to import slate from foreign countries, thus making the carbon footprint much larger than buying local slate. The only advantage of using slate financially wise over a ‘green roof’ is, it is a much quicker process to complete, this making the labour costs less. As you can see, foreign slate is much cheaper. Price comparison Welsh Roofing Slate 24 x 12 Price: £1.95 each + VAT(15%) =£2.24 each Chinese's Roofing Slate 24x12 Price: £1.29 each (inc VAT) The “green roof” has been constructed, soil has been placed over a waterproof membrane followed by vegetation (Sedum acre).

Dictionary: R-value-The bigger the number, the better the insulation's effectiveness (Also ‘K value or thermal conductivity is usually measured in Watts per metre per degree Celsius (Kelvin to be 100% correct) abbreviated as W/m.k ;The lower this number, the better the insulator. The U value- is actually a measure of the overall ability of a wall/roof/floor to prevent heat loss, and is measured in watts per square metre per degree Celsius (Kelvin) and is abbreviated as W/m2’). Compatible-will work with other membrane systems. The school has choose extruded polystyrene ( EPS). This is a lightweight closed insulation formed by expanded polystyrene beads. EPS has excellent long term thermal and moisture resistance. It’s can be bought in many different sizes and shapes for construction, in this case the insulation for the roof was 120mm thick rigid extruded polystyrene insulation. 150mm quilt insulation was used within the walls of the timber frame construction. Benefits of this type of insulation; Thermal efficient, low cost insulation. Excellent long-term R-values & U-values. Tapered for positive drainage. Compatible with many membrane systems. Source of information ‘ 7. Source information Polystyrene beads

All internal lighting will also be fitted with energy-efficient lamps: These lamps will reduce energy consumption and they also have a rated life span of up to 8-15 times that of a standard lamp bulb. The only drawback in the manufacturing costs, the energy efficient lamp bulbs will cost around 3 times more than a standard bulb. Having energy efficient lamps are a great idea for every one, especially in a public building like a school where lights will be in use all day long. The low consumption of the energy saving bulbs will make up for the cost of the bubs in a short period of time, compared to a standard lamp, you will save a greater amount of money. Traditional lamps would normally be used in a school. The manufacturing costs, are much less but are more expensive through their energy consumption, and because of their short life span. A number of wind turbines: They are rotating machines which converts the kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy which get converted into electricity. The advantage is, there are no emissions or pollution produced by its operation. The disadvantage is, depending on how fast the wind turbines rotate, too fast and this becomes a hazard to birds and may be noisy. These will be placed around the school grounds. Dictionary: Kinetic-The kinetic energy of an object is the extra energy which it possesses due to its motion. (

Images- Information (Slate Price) Additional Information- Letter from Ysgol Y Graig Architect-Mr Gareth Thomas