Education
As a social enterprise, we donate a proportion of our sales income to the education charity Schools & Homes Energy Education Project to conduct renewable energy and energy efficiency activities in educational establishments, youth groups and general public. For instance, Recovery Insulation has donated time, secured funding and provided financial support in the development of an education resource, the HOT HOUSE with the School of Education, Sheffield Hallam University and with a video funded by the Social Enterprise Exchange program which supports social enterprise in Sheffield City Region via a community-based consortium in collaboration with Sheffield City Region Growth Hub and funded by European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020.
Inno-Therm® insulation is made from cotton fibre (85%), originating from recycled textile (jeans and velvet), and polyester fibers (15%). It contains no harmful or toxic chemicals so it can be used safely in an educational environment. Have your students watch this short video showing how recycled cotton and denim garments are processed to manufacture Inno-Therm®.
Hot House
Encourage your students to investigate concepts of heat transfer through the education resource we have developed called the HOT HOUSE. It is designed for conducting practical enquiries in thermal and acoustic science.
We provide worksheets, ‘eco’ insulation materials and a HOT HOUSE template to conduct a scientific enquiry with e.g. Y9 class into what is the best type of thermal or acoustic insulation. The students construct our model house using our house template to trace round so that it is spatially correct. External wall designs for the HOT HOUSE are provided or students can design their own. The students can compare and record heat loss of Inno-Therm®’, bubble wrap, cotton wool, shredded paper, other eco insulation materials provided; and can use a data logger to record the temperature of the houses to see which lost the least heat. We also are experimenting with an acoustic device to see which insulation absorbs the most sound.
Hot House is a bespoken science based resource.
View video to see what your students will do based around physics and thermal transfers heat insulation and acoustic enquiry at KS3 and KS4 (KS4 activity to be related to the current required practicals).
Manufacturing Process
Recycling, manufacturing and installation steps
Recovery Insulation being a social enterprise, a donation is made to the Schools and Home Energy Education Project/Solar Active Ltd, to deliver training workshops in domestic energy efficiency measures and renewable energy.
We have developed STEM education resources for KS2 and KS3 students, that also encompasses UK National Curriculum learning objectives in English and ICT and focuses upon ‘energy and money saving action’.
The resources are based on ideas that science is all around and scientific innovations and principles can be found in every day objects and materials throughout the home. It also encompasses ideas about the importance of renewable energy use, sustainable building materials and energy efficiency. Tools such as Energy Calculator are available to support school’s teaching in this area. To request more information about these educational resources, please get in touch.
One of the SOLAR STEM resource have students design and create solar-generated model cars – and are given the opportunity to design and construct their own components. Here here is one wheel made from cardboard.