Insulation Solutions Scotland serves a variety of customers, including homeowners, commercial clients, local authorities, housing associations, and energy companies.
George gets updates from Energy Saving Trust’s sustainable energy supply chain programme, funded by the Scottish Government, and is also a member of the LinkedIn group. These updates are a useful way of keeping up to date with the industry, which benefits George’s business.
George has also attended a couple of events organised as part of the sustainable energy supply chain programme. The first was a breakfast briefing held in Edinburgh in May 2015, which explored challenges faced by the supply chain in remote and rural areas. George attended this event as he believed it would help him with the close work he does with both private clients and housing associations, and he found it useful to talk through the issues facing the industry and to hear opinions from others on this.
In June 2015 George attended a webinar on Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) funding. This funding is available for householders to carry out energy efficiency improvements, and the webinar was organised to help make the industry aware of funding which could help their customers. George said this event was beneficial both in terms of understanding how HEEPS funding works, and for making connections and communicating with others in the industry.
Overall, George has found the support from the sustainable energy supply chain programme to be a really useful way of understanding developments in the energy efficiency and renewables markets, and seeing how these can translate into opportunities for his business.
“Being part of the programme has given us a clearer understanding of Scottish Government thinking.”
George believes the information and support from the programme will continue to generate new jobs and increase revenue for Insulation Solutions Scotland in the future. He has particularly found updates on financial support schemes useful, as well as the networking opportunities and specific advice on training and certification. All in all, George would recommend attending events and receiving updates from the sustainable energy supply chain programme to his colleagues in the energy efficiency and renewables industry.
Project: park home installation
George was able to apply the knowledge gained through the sustainable energy supply chain programme to a park home installation project carried
out by Insulation Solutions Scotland in Edinburgh. The homeowner used funding from the HEEPS: Cashback scheme which was administered by Energy Saving Trust to insulate their home.
The timber-framed home was covered with a UPVC cladding system, fixed directly to the structural sheathing boards, which had caused some structural damage as water was trapped behind the cladding. The original cladding and fixtures had to be removed and some structural elements replaced before the SPS Envirowall T.S Rail System insulation could be installed. This took just over two weeks to complete.
The project also gave George the opportunity to be as resource efficient as possible. The existing cladding was originally going to be disposed of, but as it had been removed carefully and was in good condition, George suggested recycling the material by selling it to another contractor working on park homes instead. The homeowner was on board with this, allowing them to make some money and save on waste disposal.
The end result of this project was very positive and went beyond the client’s expectations.
“Not only had we installed a system fit for purpose, but changed the aesthetics of the property beyond recognition. The client could not have been more pleased with the end result, which has now become a major talking point on the Park Home Site.”