The future of glazing?

A post on LinkedIn caught my eye recently as it was highlighting a product that could potentially solve a problem for a number of system companies ahead of the introduction of new rules on Part L that come into force in June.

To recap, the new stricter Part L regs mean that windows and doors with a glazed area of more than 60% will need to achieve a minimum U value of 1.4/m2k. That’s for home improvement, for new build the figure is 1.2W/m2k.

Some system houses have been very vocal about how they are ready for the changes, but others have remained very quiet…the reason being that certain older systems are reported to be struggling to meet those numbers.

In some cases, triple glazing will be required, but as we all know, triple glazing brings with it a whole host of other problems associated with handling, cost and production.

Fineo vacuum glazing, which is manufactured by AGC, claims to be able to offer the same or better thermal performance as triple glazing – without the need for argon gas – while being much thinner and significantly lighter.

At face value, it certainly looks like an innovative solution to heavy old triple. Now, if only someone could invent a simple solution to end the ongoing debate over trickle vents and the new rules on Part F and ventilation…