Curious about the energy-saving potential of solar shading?

It is not always easy to make a choice -within the enormous variety of awnings. Let alone the right choice. The sustainability factor plays an increasingly important role. Both for consumers and for companies and governments. Verosol, an expert in indoor sun protection and a leader in the field of metallized textiles, has an enormous range of screens that protect against heat, insulate and create atmosphere. To simplify the choice within that range, based on what is important within the project and the set requirements, Verosol developed a Savings Indicator.

"The climate is changing, the requirements and wishes regarding sun protection are changing, so we innovate along with it," says product manager Evert Bos. "And in addition to our extensive range of high-quality products that we develop and produce in-house, we are also a reliable partner and advisor for our customers."

Savings Indicator

"In a world where sustainability is becoming increasingly important, it is useful if you can already gain insight into the energy savings that can be realized by applying certain sunblinds during the design phase. Especially since our metallized interior blinds may be included in the BENG calculation," says Bos. "With our new tool, the Savings Indicator, architects can get an early indication of the energy-saving potential of the Verosol solar shading they want to choose from." Not only for architects, but also for façade builders and all other parties where glass choices are relevant in the preliminary process, the Savings Indicator comes in handy.

Unique in the market

Lindsay Hovenier, manager R&D and Expert Centre at Verosol: "The indicator not only shows the CO2 savings of the product, but also the savings in euros." The indicator will soon go live and is unique in the Dutch market. The European standard EN 14501:2021 is the guideline for the reference glazing in the tool. "In the indicator, you can enter the number of square meters of glass per facade orientation and immediately see what the chosen cloth yields in terms of energy savings. In addition to selecting one fabric, you can also select two and make a comparison between them. This makes it immediately clear what, for example, a metallized fabric does compared to an unmetallized fabric. You can also enter this choice for several facades at the same time and the calculations are made per facade. So this basically allows you to calculate the whole project at once."

Preselection

In particular, the fact that you can make a preselection at such an early stage is enormously valuable, according to Evert. "Of course, a performance calculation must eventually be made once final choices have been made, but it really allows you to look beyond just aesthetic appearance and cost in the design phase and actually start comparing on things like heat, cooling, light glare (glare control), comfort and energy savings." The investment in Verosol metallized fabric is quickly recouped thanks to the energy savings the fabrics provide. The Savings Indicator shows the potential savings. Verosol is thus responding nicely to the sustainability issue from the market. 

Sustainability in process and products

"Within Verosol we are working on sustainability in many ways," says Evert. In making the entire production chain and the products themselves more sustainable, Verosol is making huge strides. "For example, we have insulated the roof of our factory and equipped it with more than 2,200 solar panels. Enough to be self-sufficient." Lindsay adds: "We make maximum use of machinery and supply wider rolls. Not only does this allow us to respond to the ever-widening windows and glass facades, it also significantly reduces cutting losses. But we are going one step further..." 

Suremade

Lindsay explains that Verosol, in collaboration with various project partners within the Suremade project, is exploring ways to make its metallized screen fabric more sustainable. "Our polyester fabrics are already recyclable at the end of their useful life, but with this project we are looking at whether we can use recycled materials in the production of our fabrics." In this regard, Lindsay notes that recycled yarns have so far lagged in performance. "And since we are known for our high-performance metallized screens, we don't want to compromise on the performance of our canvases. Therefore, we are fully exploring how we can still improve the recycled yarns to not only ensure that superior quality and performance, but also provide even more sustainable cloths."

More information about the Savings Indicator can be found on Verosol's website.