The temperature in the UK isn’t exactly stable, and that can cause energy questions for architects and office buildings. In places where the weather is more stable, it’s simpler to come up with methods for the heat of the sun to be either used productively or lowered, whichever is most appropriate for the country in question. In the UK, however, the temperature swings significantly to either side of the comfortable zone – down to -5 or -10 in a bad winter, up to +30 or +35 degrees in a hot summer. Since ‘room temperature’ is around the middle of this range, it means that there could be a difference of 20 degrees one way or another. Having big windows, as there are in many office buildings, can make a significant difference to the temperature of an office or other work environment. In the summer, the big windows that make the most of the winter sun can make a room uncomfortably hot. A brise soleil can work with this problem. Glass louvres can work both ways, allowing in winter sun but protecting from the summer heat. Thus such external louvres might be the right solution to the heating and cooling problems of the modern office building.
There are a great range of solutions on offer. The simplest sort of brise soleil (which is just French for ‘sun breaker’) comprise a fixed structure that protects a window from the sun. Even these, however, can be fairly sophisticated. Careful placing means that they can still let in low-angle winter sun, allowing a degree of passive solar heating. In the summer, particularly around midday when the sun is at its hottest, its placing to the top of the windows means that they are shielded from high-angle heat. Other types are much more sophisticated, incorporating mechanical elements that tailor the degree of shade to the specific requirements of the day and building. Naturally, these are more complicated and therefore more expensive. Louvres might be added to help filter out the summer sun.
Thus there are a number of architectural solutions that allow a high level of flexibility in a building’s heating and cooling requirements, even in a climate such as the UK’s. Heating and cooling needs in winter and summer respectively can be in tension, but judicious use of the brise soleil and external louvres can allow for the best of both worlds. Glass louvres are particularly effective in ensuring that the vagaries of the seasons can be used to work in your favour.
Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.
http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/
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