Why external louvres?
New-build homes are increasingly being built with large glass facades. This allows a lot of daylight which results in a pleasant living environment and enables you to enjoy your beautiful views. The downside of having large glass windows is the increase of overheating. With the impact of summer months now getting warmer and longer, the government has put in place the new Part ‘O’ compliance. The goal of this new regulation is to reduce carbon emissions, as well as cut costs of increasing energy usage. This is why it is so important to think about how to shade these large glass facades, in order to prevent overheating with a sustainable, long-term shading solution.
Reduce energy consumption
By applying the louvres externally instead of internally, a much greater influence can be exerted on the overall energy consumption of your residence. Since the sun is obstructed before it hits the glass, it is a much more efficient way to reduce heat gain especially during the summer. During the winter, the external louvres allow the much needed solar gains, which leads to a better thermal comfort and significant energy savings.
Daylight management
People love to live and work with daylight and a view. An abundance of sunlight disturbs this pleasure through glare and reflection on screens. That is why louvres are often used on façades. This gives you control over the amount of daylight that enters the room. The louvres can be tilted from 0 ° (completely closed) to 90 ° (completely open) and can be placed in any position in between. This allows direct sunlight to be reflected, while still allowing a view through with plenty of daylight to enter the building.
Made to measure
Louvres are available in high grade extruded aluminium and Western Red Cedar wood and are made to measure, therefore applicable for any shape and size and are also available in any colour.
In compliance with Document Overheating of the new building regulations
To reduce the risk of overheating, Document O has been added to the new building regulations that have been active since 15th June 2022. Although internal blinds and curtains provide some reduction in solar gains, they’re not taken into account when considering whether requirement O has been met. Therefore, it has become even more important to consider external shading, as this means that adding external shading to your new-build, will increase the amount of glazing you are allowed to have.
