Ergo Plus Facilities client profiled in FM World
Posted 13 December 2010 in News
CAFOD’s Quentin Padgett recently gave Cathy Hayward of FM World a tour of Romero House in Lambeth, a five-storey, 33,000 sq ft building, was built on an old car park site owned by nearby St George’s Cathedral. The article Cathy wrote following her visit can be seen on the FM World web site together with a video tour of Romero House.
CAFOD: A GREENER WAY OF OFFICE LIFE
Romero House is heated and cooled by highly efficient energy pumps connected to eight boreholes dug 125m into the earth. The atrium and office windows maximise daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting (which takes advantage of movement sensors in certain areas), while roller blinds and the external louvres control glare and shield the building.
A natural green sedum roof increases biodiversity by encouraging plants and insects to make it their home, and rainwater collected from the roof is used for toilet flushing. Aerated taps and low water-use fittings mean less water is used overall.
The roof-mounted solar panels generate 3,500kWh per year, saving the equivalent of two tonnes of C02. A solar hot water heater provides all hot water. It is double glazed throughout with self-cleaning glass. The concrete’s thermal mass stores energy from the ground source system at night to offset the heating or cooling loads the next day.