Physics in everyday life: How does insulation protection work with thermal roller blinds and thermal pleated blinds

Roller shutter

The most modern technologies turn pleated blinds and roller blinds into high-quality insulation protection. (Image: pixabay.com, Hans)

Energy efficiency has become a major buzzword for real estate. Modern buildings must meet high standards in terms of insulation. It is also about reliable insulation against the ingress of heat and cold as well as avoiding heat loss. While new buildings have high insulation quality due to legal requirements, windows and doors in particular are often weak points in existing buildings. High-quality thermal roller blinds and thermal pleated blinds use different physical effects to offer additional protection against heat, cold and loss of energy.

GEG sets new standards

The new Building Energy Act (GEG) has been in force since November 1, 2020. It applies to new buildings that are heated or air-conditioned, and also applies to renovations and modernizations of existing buildings. In terms of content, the GEG combines the Energy Saving Act (EnEG) and the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG) and replaces the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV).

In Germany, buildings account for 35 percent of total energy consumption. The GEG is thus an essential step on the way to achieving the climate protection goals that the federal and state governments have set themselves by 2030. Compliance with the guidelines defined in the new GEG are important for owners.

The consumer advice center informs:

“The new building takes up the largest part of the law. The GEG aims to limit the effects of the new building’s energy requirements for heating and hot water generation on the environment. […]

Existing buildings are much more common than new buildings, which therefore determine the nationwide energy demand more strongly over a long period of time. For existing buildings, there are some replacement and retrofitting obligations that you, as the owner, have to fulfill by a certain date. In addition, there are so-called “conditional requirements” that you only need to observe if you are modernizing the building anyway.

Certain replacement and retrofitting obligations apply to all multi-family houses, regardless of a planned renovation. One- and two-family houses are exempt from this if you as the owner have lived in the building yourself since February 2002. If you buy a one- or two-family house, you have to fulfill these obligations within 2 years. “(Source: https://www.verbrauchzentrale.de)

High-quality insulation is not only required in terms of the new building energy law, it is also easy on your wallet. In the area of ​​windows and doors in particular, extensive modernization measures are not always necessary in order to achieve a noticeable improvement. Thermal roller blinds and thermal pleated blinds make use of physical effects in order to offer the most modern insulation protection in a clever combination of material and design.

Cool interiors thanks to reflective backs or plisees with air cushions

In hot summer temperatures, interiors can quickly become uncomfortable. Rooms with large windows are particularly affected. With a special thermal roller blind or Perlex pleated blind, the heat from direct sunlight can be noticeably reduced.

The effect of the privacy and heat protection is based on the reflection of infrared light (IR reflection). The short-wave infrared rays in sunlight generate heat when they are absorbed instead of reflected by the surface they hit. Science speaks of “albedo”, the proportion of short-wave radiation that is reflected. A complete reflection of the infrared radiation corresponds to an albedo of 1, each partial reflection is expressed accordingly in decimal numbers. The lighter a surface, the greater its reflective properties. Untouched snow has an albedo of 0.95, which means that it reflects 95 percent of the incoming heat.

This physical effect comes into play in modern, thermoregulating roller blinds and pleated blinds. Thanks to the reflective backs, this special glare and heat protection lets a small part of the penetrating heat through and thus ensures cooler interiors. Metallic coatings impress with their high degree of reflection.

Thermal roller blinds are covered with a layer of aluminum, as silver coatings achieve the highest reflection in the infrared spectral range. Depending on the wavelength and angle of incidence of the incident light, a reflection of 65 to 95 percent is possible, which noticeably reduces the heat generated by incident sun rays.

The technology of Perlex pleated blinds is based on a similar effect. The pleated blinds have a special layer of mother-of-pearl on the outside, which also reflects a large part of the short-wave radiation instead of absorbing it. Perlex is used as a highly reflective coating in many areas. While aluminum is a metal, Perlex is obtained from a mineral that is vaporized with titanium dioxide.

Optimal reflection can be achieved when a white or very light material is given a suitable coating. In this way, the heat load in the interior can be reduced by up to 95 percent. A high-quality Perlex coating offers the great advantage that it can be combined excellently with light-colored and also translucent fabrics without changing the look. Aluminum, on the other hand, can only be used with completely darkening materials without visibly changing the appearance.

A honeycomb pleated blind offers just as effective heat protection. However, it uses a completely different physical effect. In principle, this is a double-layer pleated blind with air cushion. The honeycomb-shaped air ducts integrated in it are designed in such a way that the room air stands in them. The stagnant air develops a strong insulating effect. This effect is based on the fact that air is a very poor conductor of heat. Honeycomb pleated blinds are designed in such a way that they can take advantage of the natural properties of air to prevent heat from penetrating from the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside. Therefore, pleated blinds can be used as insulation against heat and cold at the same time.

Less heat loss through insulating roller blinds and honeycomb pleated blinds

In the cold season of the year, heat loss is the biggest problem that windows and doors that are not optimally insulated can cause. If too much heat is released from inside to outside through poorly insulated windows and doors, more energy is required to achieve the desired room temperature. The result is increased energy consumption coupled with high costs.

A specially insulating roller blind or pleated blind can also prevent unwanted heat loss. As already mentioned, honeycomb pleated blinds make use of the poor thermal conductivity of air. This property is also used for styrofoam, for example. A lot of air is stored in the individual styrofoam bubbles, which ensures that the material hardly dissipates any heat. That is why Styrofoam is often used as an insulating material in house construction.

Down jackets or duvets are also based on the poor thermal conductivity of air with their warming effect. The model for this versatile technology is nature itself. Animals with thick fur are excellently equipped against the cold because the air accumulates in the layers of fur and the body heat insulates against cool temperatures.

Insulating roller types with an aluminum coating are ideally suited to protect windows and doors against the ingress of cold and heat loss. Aluminum reflects thermal radiation and is therefore often used in construction. When laying underfloor heating, for example, a layer of high-quality aluminum foil is usually built in to insulate the heating effect. The heat radiation that penetrates from the interior is to a large extent reflected inwards and not diverted to the outside. The same property of aluminum, which keeps unwanted summer heat out of the interior, can leave the cozy warmth in winter where it is needed and create a cozy living atmosphere.

11/24/2020

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