The usual relaxed February half-term break may seem under threat, as Britain’s frosty weather looks to linger for at least another week.
The chilly weather conditions that have travelled from as far as Siberia, have hovered around -6C to -9C – but this week temperatures look to plummet to as low as -15C – making Britain colder then the North and South Poles.
If April’s weather is renowned for showers, then January should now be known for its incredible winds.
Winds over the past week have battered Britain – reaching astronomical speeds of over 100 mph, and although these speeds only exist in the most extreme cases, seen along Britain’s coast, elsewhere temperatures have dropped severely, seeing a blow of wintery chill running through suburbs and cities alike.
With this dramatic turn in the weather you might have felt the effects of the cold blustery winds – perhaps with draughts or cold spots near windows. Often ill insulated, draughty properties – including both older properties and new builds – can lose heat through all kinds of nooks and crannies – meaning vital energy escapes and energy bills soar.
Pilkington Spacia™ however, offers a remedy to improve a property’s protection from the outside elements, and whether it’s replacing the frame and glazing unit or simply just replacing the glass in existing frames, Pilkington Spacia™ can help to improve your home’s thermal efficiency – providing a real solution to the problem of balancing historical preservation with modern comfort and environmental requirements.
The past 12 months, although challenging, have been eventful with lots of positive news and exciting developments.
Firstly, earlier in the year we announced our investment in a state-of-the-art offline coater at Cowley Hill. The work, which is now well underway, has been acknowledged and celebrated with a ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony by the chairman of NSG Group Katsuji Fujimoto, as well as a visit from the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who formally confirmed the Regional Growth Fund grant towards the project.
It is anticipated that the construction of the new plant will be complete in Summer 2012 with soft-coated products being available from November 2012.
We are pleased to announce that ‘Pilkington Spacia™’ has been named ‘Product of the Year’ by World Architecture News (WAN), the world’s leading supplier of news to the global architecture community. Brendon Moss, a design and construction associate at Tishman Speyer, who is on the WAN judging panel, considers Spacia™ to be ‘’space – aged technology’’ and that the vacuum glass system it features can be referred to as the ‘holy grail’ of intelligent glazing.
Further praise was heaped on the product by Damian Rogan, Associate at Buro Happold who commented, “It is a great product! It is the big leap forward that we have been waiting some time for in improving thermal forms of windows and in minimum depth. The potential to replace existing sash windows in single glazing with double glazing vacuum glazing with the same thickness is a bonus and will lead to improving performance in existing buildings.”
Pilkington Spacia™ provides a number of advantages for architects and home owners with the most notable being its ability to improve the energy efficiency of older, traditional buildings, where original frames have to be retained. The low weight of Pilkington Spacia™ allows for the upgrading of box sash windows, with very little adjustments to the operating mechanism. Where new windows have to be fitted in older traditional buildings or in new build, Pilkington Spacia™can be installed to give the appearance of single glazing, with the performance of double.
Specified by United House for a social housing project in the London Borough of Camden, Pilkington Spacia™has already demonstrated savings of up to £300 a year on residents heating bills. In addition, the old Milton Keynes Central Bus Station has also benefited from a Pilkington Spacia™ make-over without having its modernist appearance altered.
For more information and case studies on this award winning product head over to the Pilkington website here.
