Exterior blinds, screens and shutters on their role in sustainable construction

It is now well known: buildings are responsible for about 40% of energy consumption and about 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. So it is high time to improve their energy balance efficiently. This is important not only from an environmental point of view, but also for the individual occupants or users of houses and buildings, as they are affected by rising energy prices, both for heating and cooling. More and more parties are actively pursuing this, including aluminum manufacturer Aluprof, which also has an important sun protection business. 

Hot, as in Brussels

"It may seem like we are not among the countries that have a big problem with global warming," said Emmanuel Gregoire, deputy director at Aluprof Belgium NV. "After all, here we are still below the average temperatures of Spain or southern Italy. However, the Royal Meteorological Institute reported that the temperature in Belgium has increased by 1.9°C over the past 100 years, even by 2.1°C in the Brussels region." 

"Since 2015, we have seen at least one heat wave per year. These statistically last longer and longer - +2 days per decade - and are also increasingly intense - +1 °C per decade. If this trend continues, the average temperature in Belgium will rise by 5 °C in 100 years. Then such a long heat wave as in 2018, which lasted 26 days, could have catastrophic consequences." 

How to reduce the effects of global warming and stop it? The answer from Architecture Engineering Construction, AEC is sustainable construction, respecting nature while reducing the carbon footprint. One way to achieve this is to reduce energy consumption at every stage of a building's life, from construction to demolition. In addition, window blinds can play an important role in sustainable construction because they can significantly reduce the energy consumption of a home or building. 

Up to 30% less energy consumption

"Ecological buildings reduce energy losses in the winter and protect against heating in the summer," Gregoire said. "In many areas, shutters are the most common solution and have been very popular for a long time. Thanks to new mounting solutions, they are becoming even more efficient and ecological. The use of modern shutters with additional thermal insulation can provide savings of up to 30% on the energy consumption of a home or building." 

Exterior blinds for optical comfort

But shutters are not suitable for every building. In modern buildings with large areas of glass where people are present throughout the day, natural light is essential. On the one hand to optimize the energy balance by reducing the use of artificial light, and on the other hand to ensure the comfort and health of occupants and/or users, as natural light has a positive influence on this. 

Exterior blinds can then be a suitable solution because with the movable slats the incoming (sun) light and thus the degree of heating on the one hand and the darkening of a living or business space on the other can be determined very efficiently. The aesthetically profiled slats combined with cassettes and guides or wire guidance are additionally of interest to architects. Using the modern, industrial look of exterior blinds, they can design a facade in a very contemporary way. Aluprof's range of exterior blinds includes four variants: the SZF/A is a daytime variant, the SZF/S is self-supporting for mounting on the facade, and the SZF/P and the SZF/BX are built into the wall. "We are also currently working on new solutions," Gregoire said. 

Modern buildings require modern solutions, especially when ecology is a priority. In sustainable buildings, ensuring adequate daylighting and absorbing as much energy as possible in winter is essential to reduce energy consumption. Large windows are then a plus. But in the summer, large areas of glass are actually a problem because of warming and increased cooling requirements. Therefore, a sustainable building cannot do without shading. 

To make it possible to combine roller shutters and exterior blinds in an aesthetic way at a building or even a facade, Aluprof has the SKB STYROTERM surface-mounted roller shutters for mounting on the window in its product range. "Until recently, such a combination of roller shutters and exterior blinds was chosen mainly for commercial buildings, but with the increasing home working, it is increasingly an appropriate solution for homes as well," explains Gregoire. 

Solar screens

In addition to shutters and facade blinds, screens are a third way to balance the energy balance of a home or building. Last year, Aluprof introduced three screen solutions. Two of them, the SkyRoll ZIP and the SkyRoll Classic, can be used for glass surfaces up to 16 m2. "The screen fabrics used protect against the sun, but allow light in, while reducing glare as much as possible. This makes them a perfect solution for offices and utility buildings," Gregoire said. υ

The Aluprof brand offers three screen systems, namely the SkyRoll Zip, the SkyRoll Classic and the SkyRoll Eco, the first two of which are available in different variants, including for flush-mounting in the facade and surface-mounting on the window. For sustainable construction, Aluprof recommends the flush-mounted or surface-mounted variants. "The surface-mounted variants increase the risk of thermal bridges," says Gregoire. "The wide choice we offer ensures that we always have a solution tailored to the needs of the end users." 

Screens: ecology and saving money

"Between July 2021 and December 2021, natural gas prices in Belgium increased by an average of 50%," Gregoire notes. "This increases the average annual gas bill from €1386.05 to €2,780.21. The increase in electricity prices is 'only' 27%. The war in Ukraine further increases prices. We must take into account that if the coming summer becomes warmer than last year's - when the summer was extremely wet - energy consumption will increase rapidly and thus energy bills will rise even more sharply." 

For the individual occupants and users of homes and buildings, protection from excessive heating in the summer is therefore becoming increasingly important, as it provides a real reduction in cooling - especially air conditioning - costs.
enables. Increasingly, it is expected that solutions that allow less sunlight to penetrate the home or building will be chosen as early as the design phase. 

Gregoire said the increased interest in screens is also due to an additional problem during the summer months, namely increasing numbers of mosquitoes. "Already several years ago the tiger mosquito came to Belgium the numbers of this insect are increasing year after year. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that the SkyRoll ZIP screen systems can be equipped with mosquito nets to protect the interior space from insects." 

'Let's build a better future'

"Window screens are a necessity if a home or building is to meet the requirements of sustainable construction," concludes Emmanuel Gregoire. "At the same time, screens offer a great financial advantage by reducing energy costs. Ever more efficient solutions in line with sustainable building trends give hope that in the era of increasing global warming, the future need not be so negative."