Cupa Pizarras installs 48 thermal solar panels in Thermoslate slate on the roofs of the “Béguinage du Bon Secours” in Vendôme

Cupa Pizarras, world leader in natural slate, contributed to the construction of the “Béguinage de Bon Secours”, in Vendôme, in Loir-et-Cher (41). This inclusive housing, made up of 16 accommodations distributed within four independent houses of 200 m2 each, is designed to create links between generations. It has been welcoming its first tenants, families and elderly people, since the summer.

In a protected sector, submitted to the architect of buildings of France, schist naturally imposed itself: in total, 35.000 slates were installed. To reduce the overall environmental impact, Cupa Pizarras integrated its Thermoslate solar slate system and its invisible sensors, positioned under the slate. Over a year, these ensure 60% of domestic hot water needs.

Social innovation combined with technical innovation

The Beguinage project is supported by a nursing home with 122 residents, the Bon Secours retirement home, associated with a religious community, the congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours of Paris. It offers an alternative to accommodation for independent elderly people and people with disabilities who are not covered by the nursing home.

The objective: to bring together, within a shared living space, elderly people and families seeking social connections (single mothers, parents whose child has a disability, for example).

For Thomas Guinamard, Director of the Maison du Bon Secours establishment: “Within the beguinage, we bring together elderly people and families so that they can help each other and share moments of life. In the logic of integral ecology, we wanted this social innovation to be associated with an innovation linked to the living environment. In this way, we take care of people, as well as the planet. The system proposed by Cupa Pizarras allowed us to build buildings that consume as little energy as possible, by heating water intelligently. Thanks to the solar slate, our boilers only work in addition, to reach the ideal temperature. »

For Jean-Marie Lemaire, project architect at the SAS SCPA Architectes agency: “The Beguinage was built near a 19th century chapel, on a protected site. The choice of natural slate was therefore natural. It is a traditional material which adapts particularly well to the challenges of contemporary architecture. »

Thermoslate, the first slate thermal solar panel on the market

Natural and mineral, slate combines aesthetics and energy performance. With a lifespan of 100 years, split by hand, it consumes little energy and water. It also has the ability to capture heat.

Cupa Pizarras has been exploiting this potential with its Thermoslate sensors for around ten years and transforming the roof into a source of energy.

For Erwan Galard, product manager at Cupa Pizarras: “Our solar collector is a panel that measures 2,50 m by 60 cm. Its upper layer is made of natural slate from our quarries. Placed within a blanket, it is therefore undetectable. Under the slate, there is a heat absorber: a double aluminum skin in which a heat transfer fluid circulates which is charged with heat and which will then return it to an exchanger upstream of the hot water tank. Thermoslate ensures more than 60% of domestic hot water needs over a year, which is not neutral in terms of energy savings and financial savings. »

For Jean-Baptiste Bodin, Manager of the ETS Couverture Bodin company: “The Thermoslate solution is very easy to install and completely adaptable. We were able to select a slate, its format and even the black hooks that allow it to be fixed. It is really the product that conforms to the installation system and not the other way around. »