‘Test centre is energy neutral’


Hydro Building Systems has opened a new dedicated test centre for its Wicona brand of façade products – one of the first energy neutral industrial buildings in Europe.

Located at Bellenberg near the Wicona Brand Development Centre at Ulm in Germany, €3.5m scheme will allow new products and project-specific façade solutions to be tested in-house and independently certified to the latest European standards.

The new Wicona test centre is designed to be highly energy efficient and sustainable, consuming only 23kWh/m2a of energy for heat and light – around the same as a standard passive house. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels harness energy from the sun and generate sufficient power for heating and lighting the entire building. The surplus 30,000kWh/a produced also provides the operating energy for the test centre, making it one of the first zero emission production buildings.

An innovative Wicona façade solution is integrated with the building services and low energy technology, and is highly glazed to allow most of the testing to be carried out without the need for artificial lighting. The large volumes of water required for the façade tests use a closed water circuit to minimise consumption.

Commenting on the new facility, Bob Welsh, General Manager of Wicona in the UK, said, “This is a fantastic new resource for the Wicona brand. To have a facility of this quality that is dedicated to Wicona products and fitted out with state-of-the-art testing systems, reinforces our position as a market leader in façade technology.”