DOORS&WINDOWS
New technology to improve the
thermal efficiency of windows
A consortium of European businesses has
set out to develop a solution to excessive
heat loss and gain through windows.
While there are some solutions currently
available on the market which have proved
to be effective, the consortium wanted
to address some key limitations. These
included the tendency for filaments to
radiate heat and the high cost of some of the
technologies.
The project partners – which included
Eurofilms Extrusions, Wells Plastics, Hanita
Coatings, Hermaos Del Pino Espinosa
and the UK Materials Technology Research
Institute (UK-MatRI), a Pera Technology
company – undertook two and a half years
of scientific research and technological
development in polymer compounding and
multi-layer extrusion techniques in a bid to
solve these issues.
The solution they identified is a low-cost,
organically-based, readily available multi-layer
polymeric switchable reflective SHGC film
coating. The multi-layer film operates in the
infra-red region giving control to the amount
of heat radiated whilst retaining a constant
level of visible light transmission. The number
of films in the multi-layer stack are minimised
to ensure that the SolarGain technology is
cost competitive and large areas of film can be
controlled from one source. The technology
requires a small voltage to ‘switch’ the film and
can be supplied as part of a window unit or
retro-fitted onto existing windows.
‘they represent over 40%
of energy consumption in
the EU, which is equivalent
to over 1,800 million
tonnes of CO2 emissions’
Speaking about the project Nick Smith, MD,
at EuroFilms, said: “Buildings are a major
drain on European energy resources. They
represent over 40% of energy consumption
in the EU, which is equivalent to over 1,800
million tonnes of CO2 emissions. If Europe
is to meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments,
improving the energy efficiency of buildings is
a priority objective.
“A building’s windows – whilst attractive,
desirable and essential to the comfort of the
occupiers – are also acknowledged to be a key
weak point in terms of the building’s energy
use. Due to their inferior insulating properties,
they lose h eat during the winter months.
Thanks to excessive heat gain from the sun
during the summer months, they also require
expensive energy-intensive air conditioning to
cool the building down.
“With such window-related losses
representing 10% of a building’s energy
consumption – 4% of Europe’s total energy
use – it’s clearly a serious problem, and one
that the SolarGain project has taken huge
steps forward in addressing.”
Tim Beaver, Project Manager for the UK
Materials Technology Research Institute, said:
“SolarGain technology represents a stepchange in the energy efficiency capabilities of
windows. This was only made possible by the
unique combination of skills and technologies
represented within the consortium.
“We believe that this technology is
likely to generate significant demand once
launched and will go a long way in helping
home owners and businesses reduce energy
consumption.”
The SolarGain technology is now
undergoing optimisation ahead of being
released to the market.
WIN, WIN, WIN WITH CAMDEN
& CLEARVIEW AT THE FIT SHOW!
Camden
Stand:
128
Among the new exhibitors to this year’s FIT Show at Telford will be Northern Irishbased group, Camden which – in conjunction with Clearview magazine & Pro Installer
- will be giving away three composite doors on each day of the three day show.
All you need to do to be in with a chance of
winning is to visit the Camden (Stand 128)
stand during the show. Clearview will also
be there, giving away scratch cards with the
opportunity to win a great range of prizes
including a fabulous trip to New York for
two, plus industry-specific prizes including
a Camden Composite Door.
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JUN 2014
Camden has chosen the FIT event, now
firmly established as the leading industry
show in the UK, as part of its strategic plan to
provide high quality but competitively-priced
products across the UK.
On show will be Camden’s aluminium bifold doors in a range of colours and finishes,
composite doors, high security, decorative
glass and colour options, Vertical Sliders- ‘A’
Rated, maximum security & safety with
traditional hardware, classic white with a range
of foil options.
‘maximum secuity and safety’
www.camdengroup.co.uk
To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com
Camden
3c
eac
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