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| Ramboll provides vital advice for prototype solar-powered house  Fire engineers from Danish engineering company Ramboll have played a key role in the design of SunBloc – a prototype sustainable house which draws all its power from the sun. A section of the building will be displayed at EcoBuild next week, giving delegates the opportunity to see how innovative materials and technologies are being used within it.Created by the HelioMet team from London Metropolitan University, SunBloc is the only UK finalist in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 competition. This challenges university teams to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and architecturally attractive. Using the latest techniques in digital design and manufacturing, SunBloc's lightweight, durable structure has the potential to exploit unused city spaces such as rooftops, and the capability to power surrounding buildings. Its PassivHaus properties also mean that heat loss and energy consumption will be kept to an absolute minimum. SunBloc is constructed from innovative, lightweight materials including expanded polystyrene which is flammable. HelioMet therefore called on Ramboll's fire engineering team for guidance on building regulation compliance issues and possible engineering solutions. Suppression systems, which allow the expanded polystyrene to be treated using a protective cover which increases resistance to fire, were also investigated. Our specialists contributed their time to this project free of charge. SunBloc is being displayed on Stand S2750 at EcoBuild from 20 - 22 March at the ExCeL exhibition and conference centre. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |