What is the Passivhaus Standard and why is it important?
Homeowners looking to build their own house, or substantially renovate an existing property, might assume that meeting the building regulations applicable to their location is the best result they can aim for. In truth, however, building regulations are a minimum standard – and that often shows in how buildings perform in use. The Passivhaus standard […]
Traditional features in modern housing Take a look at any housing site where multiple dwellings are being constructed and it’s likely that a majority of the properties include features such as bay windows and dormer windows. Such traditional features remain a common part of modern house design. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, they […]
What makes a building energy efficient? When choosing products for a building project, it’s easy to concentrate on each item individually – costs, performance, availability – and lose sight of the bigger picture. Throughout the UK, the sections of each country’s building regulations that might be termed ‘thermal regulations’ don’t just deal with heat loss […]
How is a rooflight’s thermal performance declared? These days, most people understand the benefits of having a glazing unit that is more than just single glazed. Double glazing, triple glazing and even quadruple glazing improve the thermal – and acoustic – performance by introducing sealed layers of air between the panes. The measure of a […]
The correct pitch for rooflights installed on a flat roof is between 3 and 5 degrees. This ensures that water will drain off the surface of the glass and avoid ponding, a process in which puddles of water on the glass surface evaporate and leave unsightly dirt and staining on the glass. For more efficient […]
The maximum pitch for a rooflight on a flat roof is 5 degrees. For pitches greater than 5 degrees, the pitch must be built into the roof with the kerb constructed perpendicular to the roof; otherwise the down leg of the framework may foul the external face of the kerb. This could result in a […]
The minimum pitch for rooflights is 3 degrees. This is enough to ensure that water will drain off the surface of the glass and avoid ponding. Glass inherently has a degree of flex when installed flat, known as ‘deflection’ and means that without pitching the rooflight up slightly at one end, rainwater will accumulate and […]
Thermal breaks are manufactured out of material that is very poor at conducting heat, so that when introduced into a metal frame it forms a physical barrier to stop heat being conducted through the framework. The thermal break material should act as an insulator as well as maintain structural integrity of the frame assembly. View […]
Cold bridging is when condensation forms on the inside of the rooflight framework. This occurs when the rooflight is situated over a room with high humidity, such as a kitchen or bathroom, and the warm, humid air inside the building contacts the cold surface of the metal frame, if there is no thermal break or […]
The cavity is the width between two panes which can be filled with Kyrpton to improve the U-value rating of a double or triple glazed rooflight. A rooflights energy efficiency can be increased by the use of inert gas, such as Kyrpton, as this has a lower thermal conductivity than air and also give it […]
The cavity is the width between two panes which can be filled with Argon to improve the u-value rating of a double or triple glazed rooflight. A rooflights energy efficiency can be increased by the use of inert gas, such as argon, as this has a lower thermal conductivity than air and also give it […]
A U-value measures how effective a material is as an insulator. The lower the U-value of your rooflight, the better it is, as a heat insulator. When installing your rooflight into your home, you will notice the U-value is lower for the triple glazed options than the double glazed. Therefore, the triple glazed option will […]
Read more independently verified reviews on
We accept
Checkout payments secured by
