There are a number of architectural features that can reduce energy expenditure and should be considered in the design of a new building. Since awareness of environmental issues has risen – not to mention energy costs – these technologies can be effective ways of combating either excessive heating by the sun and/or using the sun’s energy to heat premises where possible. Chief amongst these features are the brise soleil and external louvres. The first is a catch-all term for different sun barriers, from the simple to fairly complicated versions. Glass louvres are another way of regulating the amount of solar heating that a building receives.

Modern offices and other buildings often have large windows. This has a number of advantages, including giving them a light, airy feel, cutting down on the need for indoor lighting and, to an extent, heating – even in the UK, where the sun cannot be relied upon. However, in the height of summer this can lead to a different problem, as the space quickly heats up and starts to resemble the inside of a greenhouse. This, in turn, results in an environment that is so uncomfortable that a cooling system is required. Air conditioning has costs associated with it, as does heating. The problem therefore becomes: how to use the sun for heating when it is needed, but not to allow it to overheat the space in hotter weather?

The brise soleil and external louvres can be positioned in such a way as to exclude the sun’s rays at their most fierce. The angle of glass louvres, for example, can be adjusted to block high-angle sun characteristic of the hottest months of the year or the middle of the day. At the same time, they allow low-angle sun – characteristic of winter months – into the building. This means that you get the best of both worlds; the sun can be used for heating in colder weather but excluded in hotter weather. In more sophisticated cases, the louvres are actually movable, meaning that they can be adjusted at the time if the weather is unusually warm (or cold). These systems are more complicated and therefore expensive, although the building may recoup these additional costs in lower heating and cooling bills. Nevertheless, even fixed systems can go a long way to reducing energy bills and making buildings more comfortable, all year round.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/

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