Explore our latest blogs and articles to keep up to date with solar shading, light control, and fire protection news.
Solar gain has multiple pros but also some cons. Buildings may be designed to increase solar gain, saving on fuel energy to heat homes and commercial spaces. Yet, even in these cases, solar gain can cause problems and needs to be reduced.
There is something beautiful about a room flooded with sunshine. Especially in the mornings when it has gently warmed the space and the light is still relatively soft. However, by midday, the strength of the sun has usually caused the room to become uncomfortably hot and the light is creating glare.
Coming into effect from 15th June 2022, Approved Document Part O deals with the growing issue of buildings being designed and constructed without due consideration to the building’s potential overheating internal temperature, during our warmest months.
External shading is by far the best and, can be, the simplest solution. Why? By stopping the heat gain from hitting the window in the first place. But to work properly it must be in place, covering the whole window all the time. Your cycle helmet is useless if you have it hanging down the back of your neck, isn’t it? In fact, it’s even more dangerous.
.png)
Green buildings must also be healthy with more natural ventilation to improve interior air quality; more daylighting to boost productivity, and more occupiable space to increase rentals – now you’re talking. The trick is to prioritize the environment and the occupants equally.
We manufacture a product designed to prevent building overheating for the construction industry that we’re proud to say has always been sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Bushfires in Australia and Wildfires in the United States are two sides of the same coin – both causing massive environmental and property damage, disruption, and loss of human and animal life
Windows are fundamental to a building’s structure and the more of them we have, the more natural light we can benefit from to illuminate the space. Making the most of natural light is vital for a healthy living or work environment but there are potential problems caused by them too, including excessive glare, energy costs, and solar gain.
Solar gain can be used to increase the thermal energy and temperature in a building, such as offices or public buildings, heating the space in cooler climates. But in warmer climates, solar gain can be problematic and can cause discomfort for occupants.
.png)
All Residential Buildings can suffer from overheating. Even the new environmental movement for Passive (Passiv) house design tends to focus mainly on heat-retention, totally understandable for winter months, without then considering the massive problem of overheating experienced between April – September in the UK. It’s a tricky one.
The goals of the new regulation are to stop occupants cooking, to stop us simply cranking up the air-con as the planet heats up, and to stop us burning up the energy with fans and air conditioning which draw us further away from net zero.
Do we even realize that we actually make our homes, offices and even hospitals chronically overheat and then just put up with it? It’s no different from not bothering to insulate your home in the winter and leaving the windows open and just cranking up the heating!
Everybody is talking about reaching net-zero by 2050, right? Well, the reality is that by this rate, temperatures in the hottest region of the planet are anticipated to rise more than twice as quickly as the worldwide average by 2030.
Nearly 1000 homes were destroyed in this catastrophic event, possibly the most terrifying in Colorado’s history. The wildfire impacted multiple neighbourhoods spread by winds blowing lethal, burning embers, causing town even more destruction and people missing from their damaged houses.
Unfortunately, when it’s supposed to be dark, there are many aspects of life on our planet that are harmed by us humans! The fact is, artificial light, the very element enabling us to live our lives at night, is actually also very damaging and insidiously toxic to our environment as well.
Every day we see images of spectacular new buildings with huge areas of glazing, getting bigger and bigger as building designs advance, yet in the UK alone well over a hundred million birds die from glass strikes every year.
Fast forward 29 years, and on the news one morning, it is announced that the world achieved its target and has reached Net-Zero. Of course, this is more of an optimistic picture than what is being publicly discussed in 2021
.jpg)
A significant percentage of fires started simply from sun radiation burning through unprotected windows
.jpg)
This month we sat down with the Founder and Managing Director of Smartlouvre Technology Ltd, Andrew Cooper
The uptake and support of building certifications and accreditations that consider the wellbeing of occupants have been growing in consideration
Facilities Managers the world over have been under constant pressure during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic to date
Can anyone really argue with the volume of research and data that proves that the global warming effects are being caused by humans?
Having to compromise on your lighting unit choice will always pain any self-respecting lighting designer
The malleability of Microlouvre™ fabric makes it suitable and adaptable to a multitude of design ideas and purposes.
New products generally mean new technology. Imagine then that an invention of the 1940’s could be the best choice.
.jpg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)