The brise soleil, first created by Le Corbusier in first part of the last century, is a relatively simple sun-shading structure that is added to buildings (or else integrated in the initial design and construction). Its purpose is to adjust the amount of sunlight reaching a surface, often a large glass façade, thereby ensuring that temperatures stay within a comfortable range inside. They take various forms and levels of complexity, with some of the more intricate versions providing visual appeal to a building as well as a useful function. The commonest simple forms are horizontal constructions that are attached to the vertical face of a building and prevent some sunlight from hitting the surface. Other similar approaches are glass louvres – with various types of finish and in different formats – or other kinds of external louvres.

The huge variety of designs and materials used in the manufacture of louvres can make for some truly interesting approaches. For example, glass louvres can be coated with reflective material or tinted to refract light and reduce glare within the building. However, these can also be combined with photovoltaic (PV) cells, a type of solar panel. This means that not only are you not impacted by the unpleasantly high levels of sunlight in the building, but that sunlight is converted into a useful form of energy. This makes the office space more comfortable, and reduces bills – as well as being more environmentally sound. There are therefore a range of reasons to opt for louvres as a climate-control choice. An increasing number of buildings are being designed with these in mind from the start.

The brise soleil is the most basic of the choices you can take for controlling the amount of passive heating a room or face of a building receives. It is generally also the cheapest option as a result. It can be retro-fitted, although in many cases will be part of the design – some of the most well-known buildings in the world incorporate a brise soleil in their make-up. Glass louvres and other variations of external louvres (such as aluminium) offer greater flexibility and some truly imaginative design features. They also offer the opportunity to incorporate solar cells into them, allowing you to generate power as well as keep the building cooler. The one you go for will depend on a number of things, including your budget and the size and nature of the space you need to cover. Some firms specialise in fitting louvres to existing buildings, whereas if you are starting from scratch there is more scope for integrating them into the building’s appearance.

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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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