Trevor Smith, VELUX National Housing Manager for Great Britain and Ireland, discusses the road to getting Britain building again.

With the government’s ambitious but admirable target of building 1.5 million new homes in the UK, VELUX wants to encourage partners to remember that residents are at the center when planning homes. With our expertise when it comes to not only daylight planning but also building healthy, more sustainable homes, we want to support the housebuilders on their journey in getting it right not only for now, but for the future.

To reach the target within the next 5 years, approximately 300,000 homes need to be built every year – 90,000 of those being social rent homes. In order to deliver affordable housing during this short period of time, we at VELUX believe we can offer our support with our 70 years of experience in the planning of UK homes and our innovative learnings from building all over Europe.

For health and wellbeing

Investing in healthier buildings is a triplewin for people, climate and economy. The latest English Housing Survey concerningly reports a ‘notable increase in levels of dangerous damp and mould’ compared to pre-pandemic levels. It also highlights that in 2023, 5% of dwellings in England experienced damp issues, the highest rate in the past five years. Everyone deserves a safe, healthy, and energy-efficient home with adequate ventilation, daylight and indoor comfort. It is crucial to equip homes with adequate ventilation, ensuring people are at the heart of building policy to create indoor environments that support rather than impair lives. Today, the emphasis is typically on the energetic performance of the building rather than its impact on its users, despite the fact that the average person in the northern hemisphere is said to spend 90 percent of their time inside.

At VELUX, we have been showcasing sustainable design in homes and buildings since 1999. We want to pave the way by demonstrating the future of sustainable buildings. Our latest building project is Living Places Copenhagen, a building prototype that shows it is possible with today’s technologies and at an affordable cost, to build an ultra low CO2 footprint building with a good indoor climate. The first Living Places prototype outside of Denmark opened its doors in the Netherlands in September 2024 and more are being planned in other countries as we speak. We have also long invested in research that shapes the future of healthy buildings, as can be seen in our Healthy Buildings Barometer.

The Healthy Buildings Barometer has been produced sine 2015 and is now in its 8th edition and aims to shine a light on the state of the European building stock. The framework in the 2024 Healthy Buildings Barometer highlights aspects that can improve human health and building resilience, which housebuilders can take into account when planning for natural light and ventilation, which are key to healthy homes It is essential to better factor in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) provisions and ensure passive and energy efficient measures like solar gains, ventilative cooling, shading and natural ventilation.

Buildings touch many aspects – climate and energy to name but a few – and then legislative framework needs to reflect this, as recently done at EU level with the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

For the good of the country

Crucial to success and green growth is to invest in a more people- and citizencentric approach and to play to our strengths. Climate, environmental, societal and economic aspects must come together to create an integrated framework that maximises positive returns. We cannot continue to regulate from a silo approach if we are to realise the £6.8bn economy boost of the housebuilding plans, as is predicted by the government and the independent spending watchdog.

As the drive towards more sustainable construction intensifies, the conversation around home design must evolve beyond energy efficiency alone. A truly holistic approach considers daylight, ventilation, thermal & acoustic comfort, and embodied carbon alongside energy efficiency.

While the Future Homes Standard (FHS) and existing Approved Documents provide a regulatory framework for energy efficiency, they fail to consider several critical factors that contribute to overall building performance. Among these, daylight provision is a significant omission. Natural light in homes directly influences occupant health, well-being, and energy consumption which in turn contributes to a higher cost of living.

This is a missed opportunity to enhance occupant well-being while reducing reliance on artificial lighting. Roof windows effectively maximise daylight penetration due to their lack of exterior obstruction. They can provide up to three times more daylight than facade windows of the same size and our studies show that 86% of homeowners prefer homes with better daylight conditions. All research shows that exposure to natural light improves mental well-being, productivity, and sleep cycles. Homes with adequate daylighting require less artificial lighting, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The VELUX Group has long championed Active House design principles, balancing energy, environment, and indoor comfort. These principles consider environmental impacts like embodied carbon and water efficiency, as well as indoor comfort parameters including thermal comfort, air quality, daylight, and acoustics. These can be objectively measured and incorporated into design specifications. Across the Irish Sea, the Housing Performance Index (HPI), championed by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC), exemplifies this holistic approach. Buildings are systems, not just collections of components. Holistic design is essential.

More information on VELUX HERE

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PHPD visits TuffX, a Merseyside firm with a well-deserved reputation for being a ‘glass’ act.

There are some manufacturers that simply make products and then there are those that are experts in the field and, when it comes to glazing, TuffX is very much in the latter category. With more than 20 years of experience and counting, the company has become a master in the art of glass and has utilised that knowledge to diversify and develop an extensive range of products successfully.

Thanks to an R&D department that collaborates with the world’s largest glass makers, TuffX enjoys an established position as one of the industry’s leading innovators. That’s illustrated in its contribution to the conservatory sector, where the Merseyside-based firm found a gap in the market in offering glass as an alternative to the polycarbonate that had hitherto been fitted in conservatory roofs.

As a plastic, it’s noisy when it rains, too hot in the summer, cold in the winter and far from aesthetically pleasing. “We introduced solar control glass that reflects heat,” explains TuffX Commercial Director, Paul Higgins. “It was a first in conservatories and it made the space more liveable in the warmer months. By also adding a low emissivity coating to keep the heat in, and self-cleaning properties, we eliminated many of the problems that were associated with a conservatory.”

Since then, the development of different glass coatings has resulted in a range of tints and colours, whilst TuffX is the only manufacturer that supplies panes of up to 4 metres, which eliminates the need for a potentially leaky muntin bar. These advances in modern glazing technology have made it possible to construct conservatories with less reliance on dwarf walls.

“Rather than rely on the fabrication market the brief for the Infinity concept from the outset was to produce a finished product that’s simplicity itself to fit,” continues Paul. “Instead of a frame supplied from one manufacturer, the glass from another and then a separate box of components, ours is a fully encapsulated solution. Builders love it because it’s basically a 15-minute install. There is, in fact, just four steps and one of them is taking off the packaging.”

Indeed, Infinity has won so many fans in the housebuilding market precisely because of that versatility. Uniquely, from just one profile multiple variants can be supplied. Whether it’s a choice of double or triple glazing, fire rated roof lights, walk-on units – or virtually any other type of glass – a builder can specify the Infinity rooflight for them. “It’s effectively a hybrid system,” Paul enthuses, “where framed, frameless, opening or fixed, are joined by further options that allow a rooflight to be customised for the space.”

A walk around the manufacturer’s substantial production facility provides some insight into the distance TuffX has travelled in a short space of time. Three giant furnaces produce the enhanced properties of toughened glass, where the material is heated to over 700°C, and then rapidly cooled. Once it has been exposed to those stresses, if it does break, the glass will do so in small pieces rather than sharp shards, reducing the chance of injury to anyone in the vicinity. Giant 6x5m sheets of glass are manoeuvred, cut and polished by expert operatives whilst the Infinity roof lights and lanterns are fabricated by hand.

“We have the capacity to get really technical with glass,” Paul explains as he provides a guided tour of a production plant that operates 24/7. “We’re involved in developing advanced coatings. We make solar control glass that’s as clear as its conventional counterpart, but absorbs 70% of solar gain. Tuffx was also the first manufacturer in the world to introduce low-carbon glass, which has been expertly designed without any compromises regarding quality and performance. Offering exactly the same aesthetics as regular clear glass, the products contain 64% recycled content and are manufactured using renewable electricity throughout the production process. Speaking on these quality features, Paul explains that with them

“SME developers can introduce that added value into their new builds.” “At the same time, everything is made to order so, if the opening made in the roof is not a standard size, we can provide a rooflight to match, and we can deliver it with greatly reduced lead times.

Beautiful bespoke effects can also be created with high-definition images screen printed onto glass.”

The TuffX fixed rooflights are manufactured with Clear Toughened Safety Glass as standard with a U-Value 1.2 w/m2. The roof window glass is glazed into an Anthracite Grey (RAL 7016) powder coated aluminium thermally broken frame. The Infinity roof lantern is equally installer friendly. There’s no cutting or silicone required, and the 24mm double glazing can be fitted in seconds. The result is a thermally efficient end-product with no cold bridging and U-Values from 1.2w/m2K.

One of the most recent products to be added to the TuffX portfolio is a genuinely unique technology.

GLOW is a thermostatically controlled heated glass that provides warmth in the room and is a sustainable alternative to traditional radiator or underfloor heating systems. Heated glass also dramatically reduces condensation, preserving uninterrupted views and potentially contributing to a healthier indoor environment. This innovative solution works on the basis of invisible and intelligent coatings that prevent heat from escaping.

Glass has been with us for thousands of years, and the northwest of England has long been synonymous with its manufacturing. It is a testament to TuffX that it is still finding new applications for the material, and techniques and technologies that will enhance it properties.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

For more information go to www.rdr.link/dbc023

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