Internorm Helping Build Energy Efficiently

You don't need to build a passive house to make massive savings on both financially and environmentally.

When building a conventional home it is easy to make massive energy and financial saving by making some very small and easy decisions; however the necessary know-how is of paramount importance when it comes to making these decisions and here at John Knight Glass we have the expertise and knowledge to help you create your perfect thermally efficient home.

Energy performance certificate

Since 2006 there has been EU regulations which stipulate that an energy performance certificate is required for all new builds. It is a form or registration document that includes very important information such as: energy requirements, energy loss through individual building components and ventilation, energy gain from the sun as well as the heating load of the building. This information can then be used to make crucial decisions when it comes to renovating your home as you can see the so called thermal week spots and strengthen them. A key week spot is usually the windows and with Internorm windows a thermally efficient home is just round the corner.

The key information if in the energy performance certificate is the energy parameter. This indicates an easily comparable value which indicates the thermal performance of the building and states how much heating energy per square metre living area per year is required. The energy parameter is given in kWh/m2a.

Window size and orientation

To increase thermal performance a very good trick is to position your windows mainly south, west, and east this allows you to optimise the use of the sun. Large south-facing window areas create a good energy balance and bring extra light and life into your rooms. However to avoid rooms getting too hot, it can be extremely beneficial to install a sun protection systems. This can be done by changing your glass requirements to triple glazing, or by changing the gas filling from argon gas to krypton gas, or by using integrated blind systems. Additionally, insect protection systems can be integrated.

Orientation of doors

It must be noted that there are huge thermal benefits to positioning entrance doors in weather-protected positions. By installing an entrance door that has a dark RAL surface colour in an unprotected south-facing area, the heat of the sun can create extremely warm surface temperatures on the door which have major impacts on the doors functionality. Away from massive sun exposure causing issues West-facing doors must be protected from driving rain in case of functionality issues.