Reducing heat gain in a new home extension

Our clients, two busy hospital consultants, were in need of additional space to accommodate home offices and decided to undertake a full extension. They envisioned a spacious open-plan kitchen and dining area with three sets of glazed sliding doors offering a breath-taking view of their impressive garden.

Upon completing the extension, they were thrilled with the outcome. However, they soon encountered an unforeseen issue – excessive overheating caused by the intense sunlight penetrating through the south-facing sliding doors. Exploring interior shading options, they discovered that even the most high-performing internal blinds would only provide a 63% reduction in heat-gain. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of sacrificing their beautiful view and darkening the room.

Recognising Solar-Shield as experts in exterior shading, they sought our professional advice. We proposed an ideal solution: external “zip” screen roller blinds with an openness factor of 5%. These blinds struck the perfect balance between reducing heat-gain and preserving the cherished view. Remarkably, external blinds can achieve up to a 99.9% reduction in heat-gain, depending on their type and colour.

To ensure a seamless integration with the new door frames, all hardware was custom powder coated to match. The motorised screens feature an in-built radio remote control, enabling both individual and group control. For added convenience and peace of mind, a Somfy® Tahoma smart hub automatically closes the blinds at pre-set times, even when the homeowners are away. Additionally, while traveling, the clients can remotely monitor the screens’ positions and make adjustments from anywhere in the world.

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