Raising the roof
Jon Crohill, Sheerline’s technical and design office manager asks whether thermal efficiency will be the next trend in the glazed roof industry.
Thinking back to this time last year, we were waiting for a date for the Future Homes Standard updates, we were talking about U-values and the importance of transparency, and we were waiting to see if the wider industry would follow our lead and share their U-value reports.
12 months on, we’re still waiting for the Future Homes Standard update (which was due to be released in June 2025), and although we’re still talking about our transparency around U-values, many other systems houses have remained quiet on the subject.
But we’re not here to rehash last year’s article. For this year’s Energy Efficiency supplement, we’re sharing details around the thermal performance of our newest product to join the S Roof Series – the S3 Glazed Architectural Roof.
The importance of thermally efficient windows and doors isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s a requirement as set out in Part L of the Building Regulations – but what about in the roofing sector?
We’re all aware of the issues caused by legacy conservatories that are unbearably hot in the summer, freezing cold in winter, and prone to leaks. And that’s not even mentioning the ugly, chunky looks, complete lack of finesse and style, and scant thought given to ventilation.
What we’re witnessing at the moment is a clear shift in the glazed roof market towards aluminium, away from PVC-U. But this is to its detriment when not undertaken properly. Luckily, we have a solution that reflects the demand for refined architectural aesthetics, with good thermal performance.
Our S3 Architectural Glazed Roof is stylish, sleek, and can be perfectly matched with any Sheerline product, but it’s not purely about aesthetics. As with all Sheerline products, it’s about high-performance features as well.
In this case, one of the biggest differentiators of the S3 is its in-built thermal efficiency.
The power of Thermlock
When the Sheerline range was designed, the in-house R&D team knew they needed to address the sector’s reliance on polyamide thermal breaks. They wanted to develop a product that not only met thermal requirements but surpassed them ensuring a future-proofed solution.
Thermlock, our proprietary multi-chambered thermal break technology, was developed as an alternative. It is almost half as thermally conductive when compared to traditional polyamide options.
Allowing for wider, one-piece designs, Thermlock adds rigidity to profiles. The advantage of this is the fact it eliminates distortion that can typically happen with separate top and bottom polyamide thermal breaks.
How exactly have we engineered the S3 to be so thermally efficient?
Like the S1, the S3 is fully thermally broken due to the use of Thermlock. The in-house R&D team have designed the system to create an unbroken thermal barrier between the interior and exterior of the extension, which is different to traditional conservatory roof designs.
With the latter, homeowners may find their conservatory is cold in winter because the rafters break through the thermal barrier. To extend the use of spaces earlier in the spring and later into autumn, the S3 features thermal breaks in line with the glazed units, creating a more usable glazed structure.
This approach has given the S3 rafter bars that are 230% more insulated than a traditional conservatory. And when combined with our intelligent ventilation system, SheerVent, spaces are more usable in the summer months too.