Breathable Roof Membrane Bats

Breathable roofing membranes brms to investigate the potential impacts that breathable roofing membranes brms may be having on bats the bat conservation trust bct approached the university of reading s technologies for sustainable built environment tsbe centre.

Breathable roof membrane bats.

For ecologists this is by far the most concerning aspect of installing a brm. Bats and breathable roof membrane what s all the fuss. As bat ecologists we are often told asked by architects that they will would like to use a breathable roof membranes brm in there development project however we advise that they are not used when bats are encountered. There are three main issues that could potentially affect bats arising from the installation of a breathable roof membrane.

Brms are not obligatory under any building regulations. In 2014 dr stacey waring was successful in securing additional funds to continue her work researching the impacts of breathable roofing membranes brms on bats. From these initial talks a collaborative four year research partnership between the tsbe and bct was established. Breathable roofing membranes update.

Bat group member martin o connor works as a consultant and recently wrote this article for the firm s website he kindly offered it for the newsletter es php. Breathable membranes help enable greater airflow within a property which is good for the longevity of a building but not for the bats. The tlx batsafe is the world s first energy saving bat friendly breather membrane from tlx insulation ltd. To investigate the potential impacts that breathable roofing membranes brms may be having on bats the bat conservation trust bct approached the university of reading s technologies for sustainable built environment tsbe centre.

Continuing to investigate the issues monitor potential remedial actions and identify alternative approaches. This tlx batsafe breather membrane has been designed with a tough mesh protection. The long fibres that make up brms have a tendency to be pulled out by roosting bats and pose an entanglement threat to the bats. The bitumen felt which is the only membrane suitable for bats controls this microclimate keeping it at a constant temperature within the roof void enabling bats to roost.

Breathable roofing membranes are probably not the first thing that spring to mind when someone mentions bats. Tlx batsafe is lightweight high strength and breathable whilst continuing to offer all the usual levels of performance you d expect from tlx energy saving.