Sainsburys opened their newest Store last month at Dartmouth and is was the first Supermarket in the UK where our new 750mm diameter SunPipes have been used throughout, both on the retail shopping floor as well as many of the administration offices on the first floor.  Sainsburys say they are committed to slashing by 50% the energy currently taken from the national grid; and to save 40% off CO₂ emissions.  A total of 85 Monodraught SunPipes were installed in this pioneering Store helping it to achieve its target.

A combination of the savings from embodied carbon and operational carbon techniques is estimated to contribute to cutting electricity (kWh) usage at the Dartmouth store by a third. Sainsbury’s is also aiming to be one of the first supermarkets to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for its commitment to sustainable construction.

We are pleased to say that the first Marks & Spencer Store to incorporate Monodraught Suncatchers and SunPipes is at Galashiels in Scotland.  The design and specification, as well as the installation, was carried out by our Scottish Agents, JRF Services, who installed a total of 12N° SunPipes and 3N° 800mm square Suncatchers.

JRF have been our Agents, Stockists and Distributors, for more than 15 years now and according to our calculations, they have installed more than 200 Windcatchers, nearly as many Suncatchers, and more than 2,500 SunPipes over the years.  They provide an excellent sales, technical support and installation service, for all Projects in Scotland and this M&S Store is just one of their brilliant conquests! 

Marks & Spencer did not need much encouragement however, since they were very keen to realise the energy saving potential of our systems and they are also keen to prove the growing evidence that is being amassed, showing that SunPipes and natural ventilation create the ideal internal environment for increased sales and customer satisfaction.

We have recently completed the first of the Tesco Express Stores at Hinckley in Leicestershire. A total of 12 Monodraught systems of various types were installed.

James Dorling, Head of Tesco’s Environmental Centre of Excellence stated, "The Windcatchers are helping to reduce the energy consumption of this store, which in turn means it has a smaller carbon footprint. For these reasons we will be introducing Windcatchers to our larger new stores in 2009." SunPipes are also used extensively in Staff Rooms, the Bakery and service facilities.

In his 2008 Roland Smith Lecture, Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of Tesco, announced that the supermarket chain was developing an Environmental Format for all new stores with a target, set in 2007, to halve the carbon emissions from all new stores built worldwide between now and 2020, compared with an equivalent store built in 2006.

We are currently installing our Windcatcher systems to Tesco’s new Eco Store at Cheetham Hill in Manchester, which features eleven giant Windcatchers being 4m high and of a special oval shape developed for Tesco.  To our knowledge, this is the first Supermarket to have the benefit of Natural Ventilation but as it is a Food Store, we have also had to incorporate special air filters to ensure optimum air quality.  Natural Ventilation has been proved to substantially lower the energy consumed for chilling and temperature control by not only releasing the build-up of heat at roof level but also introducing clean fresh air to the building.  The Store is due to open in early 2009.

The much heralded new Eco Store from the ASDA Supermarket chain opened this month at Bootle in Merseyside.  Bristling with innovative, carbon neutral, sustainable initiatives, the ASDA Store has used more than 40N° SunPipes extensively throughout the customer restaurant overlooking the sales floor and staff facilities with their restaurant and cafeteria, a communal changing room, a meeting room and offices, all of which now benefit from natural lighting.

Mark Orpin, ASDA’s project manager for the Bootle Eco-Store, says the sustainability initiative began when Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott challenged ASDA to ensure that new model stores would be at least 30% more efficient and emit 30% less CO₂ by 2009, compared to 2005 model stores.

Having installed various SunPipes and Windcatchers at Marwell Zoo in Winchester and the fact they were so pleased with the performance, we have recently completed a Contract for their Restaurant, where three Windcatchers plus 10 SunPipes were used on this Project.  Whereas the Zoo Authorities had always recognised the benefits to their animals to bring in natural light, they obviously decided it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for the visitors as well!  We have previously supplied and installed Windcatchers for the Ungulate Building.  Indeed, it is interesting to report that Monodraught products are becoming firm favourites with Zoos, since we have recently completed Zoo Projects in Belfast, Chester, and Colwyn Bay.

In July of this year, we installed a GRP 1200 Sola-boost Windcatcher system to BSRIA’s busy Entrance Foyer and Atrium at their Offices in Bracknell.  Built some 20 years ago, the Offices have full height glazing to the 2-storey entrance, which resulted in overheating during the summer months from solar gain. 

The opportunity was taken to install the Monodraught Sola-boost Windcatcher, firstly to alleviate the problem of summertime overheating but also, to give the opportunity for extensive monitoring.  Equipment has been set up by way of a contractual arrangement between Monodraught and BSRIA, to monitor the long term performance of the Windcatcher system over the next 12 months and compare the performance with traditional air conditioning. 

Monitoring started in September of this year and the results are currently being collated.  A special weather station has been set up on the roof, so as to measure wind speed and direction, external temperature, and a number of other environmental factors.  Internally, in the Entrance Foyer, monitoring equipment is set up on a permanent basis and readings are recorded at 5-minute intervals 24 hours a day.  This considerable amount of data is being downloaded on a regular basis by BSRIA staff, so that performance can be analysed. 

A full Report will be produced by BSRIA at the end of next summer but in the meantime, Monodraught are pleased that this is the first opportunity for long term actual monitoring to be carried out by a highly professional team, so the finished results are bound to be of great interest to everyone concerned.