Clearview National October 2016 - Issue 179 | Seite 24

PASSIVHAUS

Leading
the way in
Passivhaus
installations
Last year, the Government scaled
back on green initiatives. In July
2015 it scrapped requirements
for Zero Carbon Homes, due to
come into force this year. Then
the Green Deal, badly flawed
from the start with virtually
no take up, was abandoned.
»»DESPITE THE
Government’s loss of interest,
Britain’s homeowners have got the
message and don’t want to waste
money on buying energy they
don’t need. Why throw money
out the window when you can
take measures to make your home
more comfortable, healthier and
more energy efficient?
A ‘FABRIC FIRST’
APPROACH TO LOW
ENERGY BUILDINGS
It was this thinking that
launched the ‘Fabric First’
movement. Using new building
methods and the most energy
efficient products, Fabric First
designs and builds homes that are
so well insulated they don’t need
extra heating. Fabric First was
championed in the UK by AIMC4,
a consortium set up in 2009 to
develop and apply innovative
materials, products and processes
that met the Level 4 energy
requirements of the Government’s
Code for Sustainable Homes.
Passivhaus is arguably the
most famous Fabric First
approach. It aims to provide a

comfortable living environment,
reducing the need for space
heating and cooling to the point
where a traditional heating
system is no longer necessary. A
Passivhaus accreditation means
the building has an excellent
thermal performance, exceptional
airtightness and mechanical
ventilation. Energy use and CO2
emissions are cut by a factor of
10. Whether the climate is hot or
cold the principle is to keep the
internal temperature comfortable,
affected as little as possible by
conditions outside.
STRONG GROWTH
FOR PASSIVHAUS
WINDOWS IN THE UK
At SWISSPACER’s European
Symposium in 2015, Martin
Langen, MD of B+L Market
Data (Window Innovations
Europe 2020), forecast strong
growth for windows with the
Passivhaus standard in the UK.
Based on extensive research with
window fabricators across Europe,
including the UK, it stated by
2020 windows with U-values
of 0.8 W/m2K or below are

24 » OCT 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

expected to expand to 10% of
the market in the UK, 25% in
Germany, 30% in Austria, and up
to 35% in Switzerland.
SWISSPACER: AT THE
HEART OF PASSIVHAUS
WINDOWS
As you’d expect from the
UK and Ireland’s No.1 warm
edge spacer bar, SWISSPACER
leads the way in Passivhaus
installations. Its Ultimate warm
edge spacer bar was the first to
be Passivhaus certified,