Romazo meeting Avifauna

Much attention to Beng

Amidst the strange and slightly less strange birds of Avifauna in Alphen aan de Rijn, the Romazo Professionals gathered Monday, Nov. 5, for their annual meeting. That one is behind closed doors these days, so Z&R can't report on that. Fortunately, there was more to enjoy, such as the official farewell of Martin Straver, who stepped down as Romazo's branch manager earlier this year, and some introductions on nearly energy-neutral building. 

Straver was already out of office this day, so it became the baptism of fire for his successor Jeroen de Roos, who managed to lead the attendees through the day with verve. In a gray past, the program of the Romazo annual meeting was rather "heavy," with workshops and serious lectures. That has all diminished somewhat, but the afternoon program certainly did not consist only of entertainment. 

No fewer than three speakers - including Martin Straver - brought those present up to date on nearly energy-neutral building, BENG in the vernacular. The reason for choosing this topic was obvious. As of Jan. 1, 2020 - which is closer than it might seem - the EPC standard will be replaced by the BENG standard: nearly energy-neutral building. This also affects the shading industry, so it is important for Romazo Professionals to be prepared. 

Romazo, under the leadership of Martin Straver, has done its best in recent years to be at the table during the BENG discussions. Important because this has given solar shading a voice and a place within the BENG standards. But what does this mean for everyday practice. To clarify this, Linda Hoes and Leo Bakker of TNO and Martin Straver were willing to explain. 

Romazo's new branch manager Jeroen de Roos.

Linda Hoes: EPBD and BENG
The kickoff was performed by Linda Hoes, who began by making it clear to the audience that the European EPBD directive requires that from 2020 all new construction be nearly energy-neutral. To be clear, this refers to building-related energy use, such as heating, cooling and lighting. The EPBD standard replaces the Energy Performance Coefficient EPC (NEN 7120), an integral standard that allows for trade-offs. 

BENG falls into three parts (due to the separate requirements, there are fewer trade-offs than before): 

1. BENG 1 refers to the maximum energy requirement for heating and cooling in kWh per m² use area per year. Serious attention must be paid to the risk of overheating. Good, robust, automatically controlled and easily overridden exterior shading (opportunities for the shading industry!) becomes important to keep energy consumption low. 

2. BENG 2 refers to the maximum primary fossil energy consumption for heating and cooling, among other things, in kWh per m² use area per year. For utility buildings, primary energy use for lighting, among other things, also counts. (BENG 2 is similar to the current EPC).

3. BENG 3 refers to the minimum share of renewable energy in %. 

To calculate the energy performance of buildings, the new calculation method NTA 8800 is available. This calculation method is not intended to estimate the actual energy use of a building, but merely to test whether it meets the legal requirements. NTA 8800 was published in September of this year; the BENG requirements and method will follow in 2019. From January 1, 2020, all buildings must then meet the BENG requirements according to NTA 8800. How existing construction will do is still unclear. 

Martin Straver on the importance of near zero energy building for the solar shading industry.

Appreciation of shading
Within NTA 8800, solar shading is valued year-round (previously only in summer). Exterior blinds are valued if they are building-related and if they can be operated manually from inside the building or if they are controlled by an automatic control system. Indoor blinds may be valued if they are an inseparable part of the air-conditioning system (the method of heating and cooling). 

Until now, all blinds have been valued equally with a reduction factor of 0.3. In NTA 8800, the reduction factors are defined separately for each type of solar shading in consultation with Romazo. In addition to the solar protection properties of sunshades, NTA 8800 also values the insulation value of automatically controlled indoor and outdoor sunshades and shutters and blinds. 

Leo Bakker: appreciating innovative sun protection systems
Leo Bakker presented a deepening of Linda Hoes' introduction with a story on valuing innovative shading systems. Some shading is covered in NTA 8800, but some is not, such as cellular shading that provides better insulation or reflective shading. These cannot distinguish themselves in standard tables. 

Bakker noted that it is complicated to include these types of blinds in calculations, but ES-SO is working on a solution with a database of values that can be used as a basis for calculations. It is important that manufacturers of blinds provide data to make this database as complete as possible. Another suggestion from the audience was to use the database in reverse as well, to refer to products or companies. 

Joep van Deudekom and Rob Urgert.

Martin Straver: the practical translation
In what may have been his last appearance for Romazo, Martin Straver addressed what the whole BENG issue means for the blinds industry. If anyone can know, it's Straver! Overheating will be a major problem and so, Straver noted, architects will soon be required to look at solar shading. This represents a game changer because the decision on shading will more often be made by the architect, project developer or contractor and no longer by the end user. The sun protection specialist who focuses on the preliminary process is then at an advantage. He therefore advised the dealers in attendance to take courses to acquire the specialized knowledge necessary for this: "Make sure you become a trusted professional who can properly present everything about solar shading and energy savings, for example by taking the Smart Solar Shading advisor course." He also had a message for manufacturers: "Make sure your products are in the ES-SO database!" And finally, one for the entire industry: "Work together to provide easily accessible product information for end users." 

Epilogue
BENG and the role of shading in it seem to create new opportunities for the shading industry, but concerns were also voiced by the audience. For example, because the architect will be caught in the middle if solar shading becomes an integral part of the building envelope of a house or building, this could cost the solar shading specialist margins. The glass industry was cited as an example, where margins have fallen significantly. The experts did not think the danger was so great. "Well-established sun protection specialists can sell better-quality systems and maintain their margins," Straver said of this. But the experts still could not completely allay the concerns. 

Winner Toon van Osta was heartily applauded.

Martin thanks!
Part of the afternoon program was also the official farewell to Martin Straver of Romazo. He was extensively praised by chairman Remco Roelofs of Romazo Professionals for his merits for Romazo since taking office in 2007. These include the establishment of Romazo Professionals, the Romazo Branchedag, HR Zonwering and Romazo Garant. In recognition of his efforts, he was appointed Romazist for life and honored with the Romazo gold pin. 

Martin Straver in turn thanked the Romazo Professionals for their trust and cooperation over the past few years. "When I took office in 2007, the industry had a peak year," he reminded the room. "Then the crisis came and it all slowed down. But 2018 is another top year, which also brings it full circle in that respect." 

Uitsmijter
The bouncer of the afternoon was provided by Joep van Deudekom and Rob Urgert who held up a mirror to the audience with a lot of humor. The quiz that was part of their presentation was won by who else than Toon van Osta of Roma Benelux. His well-deserved reward: a standing ovation from the audience!    

Text and image: Thijs Pubben
Featured image: President Remco Roelofs of Romazo Professionals thanks Martin Straver for his services to the industry association.