How Roller Blinds Can Help You Achieve BREEAM Certification

How Roller Blinds Can Help You Achieve BREEAM Certification

What is BREEAM?

This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments.

BREEAM awards a star rating to a project which reflects the performance achieved by the project, as measured against the BREEAM standard and its benchmarks. The ratings range from Pass through to Outstanding, which are represented by the star rating. BREEAM measures sustainable value in a series of categories including Energy, Health & Wellbeing, Materials and more. Each category is divided into a range of assessment issues with its own targets, and when a target is reached the project scores credits. The category score is then calculated based on the number of credits achieved, and once the project has been fully assessed the final rating is determined by the sum of credits.

How does shading impact BREEAM rating?

Many of the categories that BREEAM assesses can be affected by a building’s shading. Here at Umbra, we have preached the importance of a dynamic shading solution for years, and it’s especially important when considering going for a BREEAM assessment.

The most comprehensive solution is an automated, dynamic shading system. By controlling your blinds using smart technology, you are saving time, money, reducing the environmental impact of artificial lighting and cooling, and creating a more comfortable living or working environment.

Shading can also affect the Health & Wellbeing rating of a building. Not only is this about ensuring there’s sufficient light levels, which can lead to better sleep, less illness, better mental health and increased alertness during the workday, but also about reducing light and heat levels caused by sunlight. A silver-backed screen fabric, like Spectrum 4060, reflects light and heat away from the room to keep internal temperatures consistent and eliminate glare on screens. A screen fabric also means that you retain the view out of the window even when the blind is closed, which is important for employees mental health.

An automated shading solution is the most effective way to improve light and heat levels in a building as it means the blinds can react and operate in response to sunlight levels and temperature in real-time. It also eliminates the need for manual operation so you can ensure the office blinds are always in the correct position, even when there’s no one in the office. Sensors, pre-set sequences and reactive sequences can all be set up to control your shading. For example the blinds could be set to automatically close every night for privacy and heat retention. The blinds could then be open again as the occupants return.

It’s also important to choose a high-quality manufacturer that uses mostly aluminium components in their systems. According to The International Aluminium Institute, 75% of aluminium ever produced (almost 1 billion tonnes) is still in productive use. The recycling of post-consumer aluminium products saves over 90 million tonnes of CO2, and over 100,000 GWh of electrical energy. That’s equivalent to the annual power consumption of the Netherlands. For the blinds industry, this means we don’t have to be concerned that with every new blind produced we are causing an irreparable amount of damage to the planet. At the end of a blinds life cycle, we can be safe in the knowledge that most of the components can be recycled and used again.