News, advice and guidance from VELFAC

In the opinion of one of Denmark’s leading daylight experts, modern architecture must adapt to the dynamics of daylight to meet demand for more natural light. According to Ellen Kathrine Hansen, head of research at the Lighting Design Lab at Aalborg University, this means encouraging architects to design more flexible and responsive facades which can interact with changing daylight conditions. 

The Future Homes Standard plays a key role in the UK Government’s journey to net-zero. The Standard will make sure that from 2025, CO2 emissions from new build homes will be reduced by 75-80% compared to current standards, with an interim requirement to reduce emissions by 30% from June 2022. 

Key to the ‘ideal home’ is a good indoor climate - the ideal balance of light, temperature, air quality and noise control. Prospective buyers are actively seeking comfortable and practical places which are also cheaper to run and maintain. If housebuilders can achieve the ideal indoor climate without design compromise, or significant cost uplift, then it can also deliver vital market differentiation and potentially greater ROI.

The ideal glazing specification should represent the best combination of product, performance, compliance and budget. Achieving this ideal, however, demands specific expertise especially when specifying high performance windows. A specification which is too broad could compromise architectural intent (if adjustments are required), and run the risk of possible non-compliance and associated budget overruns. It’s therefore vital that glazing products are backed by expert support, and early consideration should be given to check that your potential supplier can offer the following:

The UK Government’s pledge to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050 has important implications for housebuilders, especially the changes introduced by the new Future Homes Standard, introduced in 2022. The Standard makes sure that from 2025, CO2 emissions from new build homes will be reduced by 75-80% compared to current standards, with an interim requirement to reduce emissions by 30% from June 2022. For windows, this means a maximum allowed U-value of 1.2W/m2K from June 2022, dropping to 0.8W/m2K by 2025. U-values this low can usually only be achieved by installing triple glazing - which means housebuilders have to find suppliers ready to deliver Standard-compliant systems, manufactured at scale to keep costs low, and with warranties in place to guarantee performance.

So what does this mean for glazing design and specification? Let’s start with some definitions.

As ‘value for money’ remains core to every project brief, cost comparison analysis should always be the first step in the specification process. Cost comparison enables specifiers to analyse and compare supplier estimates and performance assumptions in terms of the measurable, lifetime performance expectations and associated cost savings, which can be achieved with better quality products – and the costs that can be incurred by cheaper alternatives.

The government’s Affordable Homes Programme, scheduled to run from 2021 to 2026, will add up to 180,000 new properties to the UK’s housing stock. This renewed focus on affordable homes will help meet demand from those unable to afford current house prices or rents, but will also play a crucial role in the government’s explicit desire to kickstart the economy by encouraging more construction.

Demand for aluminum / wood curtain walling is growing in the housing sector, driven by the low energy performance of a composite system, and by its price competitiveness when compared to all-aluminium alternatives.

Curtain walling is the focus of significant regulation however, as it is a major area of complaint for the NHBC, and so sourcing NHBC-compliant products from the outset is vital when specifying a curtain walling solution.

Modular construction is becoming more popular as a building strategy in many of our key market sectors, especially inner city residential and mixed-use developments, student accommodation and healthcare facilities.

Specification of pre-tested, proven building products can provide valuable reassurance for clients who want to be sure that key performance targets can be achieved, while also ensuring project delivery stays on schedule and on budget.