Clearview South June 2014 - Issue 151 | Page 56

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. 56 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 Visit us on S