ENERGY EFFICIENCY SHATTERING THE NORM: ENERGY EFFICIENCY WITH FIRE SAFETY GLASS

passive fire protection strategy. When specified correctly, fire safety glass can be used to create a series of fire safe compartments, providing building occupants with a safe passage of escape, emergency services a secure entrance and limiting the ability of a fire to spread further.

Glazing systems can have a clear impact on this rating (positive or negative), but what about fire safety glass? Here, Andy Lake, Sales Director UK and IRE from Pyroguard explores how fire safety glass can deliver far more than just fire protection…

There is an increasing focus on reducing the carbon emissions of UK buildings, especially with fluctuating fuel costs. As such, a higher emphasis is being placed on the energy efficiency and U-values of building products and systems used. With this in mind, architects, contractors and building owners are looking to their glazing units to do more and work harder when it comes to thermal performance. However, what about fire safety glass?

With a crucial role to play in many buildings, from commercial offices to education, leisure and residential developments, fire safety glass is a key part of a

While this is all well-known, what about the energy efficiency rating of a fire safety glass system? With the correct specification, it can be possible for fabricators to easily combine thermal and acoustic performance plus fire protection, creating a multi-functional product that does not require compromise.

One of the best ways of improving the U-values of a fire safety glass system is warm edge spacers. Spacers are used across all insulated glass units (IGUs), separating each pane of glass and working to reduce the thermal transmission bridge of the transition zone between the glass edge and window frame or façade profile. This is done to reduce thermal heat loss, as well as reducing the risk of condensation at the glass edge. However, when it comes to firerated systems, these spacers are commonly made out of steel or aluminium, due to the need for the material to remain durable and retain its strength in the event of a fire. Of course, such materials are also conductive, meaning they can have a detrimental effect on reducing the thermal performance of the glazing system and decreasing its overall energy efficiency.

However, with recent market developments and new test evidence to BS EN1364, there are now warm edge spacers available that have been specifically designed for use in fire safety glass systems. For example, a recent partnership between Pyroguard and Technoform has resulted in a successful test programme involving the Technoform SP14 spacer. Featuring a hybrid structure of polypropylene and steel, the SP14 spacer combines thermal properties with the necessary structural stability and durability required for fire protection.

A development such as this enables architects, contractors and fabricators to select a warm edge spacer that can deliver both reliable fire performance and low

Psi values (the measure of heat loss along a junction between two thermal elements), without having to compromise on the system’s thermal properties.

There are also other ways in which the energy and thermal efficiency of a fire safety glass system can be enhanced, such as by incorporating coated glass panels.

Whilst glass is a popular building material, favoured by architects and interior designers for its ability to create light, open and contemporary spaces, when used incorrectly it can create something of a greenhouse effect. This effect becomes especially apparent in applications such as atriums and façades or curtain walling systems, where exposure to sunlight and UV transmission can heat an internal space up to uncomfortable levels. As well as causing discomfort to building occupants, this will also result in excess energy required to cool the interior down to optimal levels and is, understandably so, something both architects and building owners will want to avoid.

It is here that the multi-functional role of fire safety glass can be invaluable, with the correct specification advice and technical expertise making it possible to incorporate additional panes into a glazing system. Each pane can deliver various qualities and characteristics – ranging from improved acoustics, to solar control, or even built-in privacy. With this in mind, by installing an extra counterpane with a specialised solar coating into the glazing system, sunlight can be allowed to pass through the glass whilst simultaneously reflecting away a large degree of the sun’s heat. This can help to keep the interior space cooler and at a more comfortable temperature, helping to control the building’s operational carbon emissions. With glass able to have such a significant impact on a building’s overall energy efficiency and operational carbon emissions, glazing contractors and fabricators have a major role to play in helping to construct the greener buildings of our future. While fire safety glass is a product designed first and foremost to protect, with the correct technical expertise it is possible to achieve much more, combining fire protection with energy efficiency.

For more information, please visit: www.pyroguard.eu.

U-Values as low as 0.51 W/m²K

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THIS MONTH: Ian Short Managing Director, Morley Glass

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU...

Where were you born and live currently?

I was born in north Leeds, which is where I still live. It’s an amazing part of the city, with the famous Roundhay Park being what most visitors would know here, and a great mix of different people and cultures. I love the area because it’s where many of my friends and family live – this also makes it a really sociable place with every chance I’ll bump into someone I know while walking the dogs in Roundhay Park!

Your education and the subject or activity in which you excelled?

I went to Roundhay High School which I enjoyed at the time, but I didn’t want to stay in the academic world so took the decision to leave at 16. The subjects that I liked in particular were woodwork and metalwork, so with hindsight I guess I was always destined for a hands-on career which involved making something! That said, I always preferred being out of the classroom and on the sports field playing rugby union – that was one activity I really enjoyed at school and still take a keen interest in the sport today.

Your favourite sports or interests?

I’ve always like rugby, but my big active pastime is dancing! I only started dancing in 2017 when I agreed to take part in a dancing competition to raise money for a charity. Signing up to do the Variety Strictly Ballroom event was an amazing all-round experience. From a fundraising point of view it exceeded all my expectations, raising over £20,000 for the charity, but it was also life-changing for me.

Being focused on dancing during the competition meant I lost 4 stone in weight and stopped smoking, and I met some inspirational people along the way. That was more than enough to make me want to continue dancing, and I have never looked back. Today it is an important part of my life, doing ballroom, Latin, salsa and ceroc, four very different styles.

Your biggest regret in life?

This is an easy one – not trying hard enough at school! When we’re young, I don’t think most of us appreciate how important our schooling is and the value that a good education will give you throughout your life. That’s not to say academic qualifications are the be all and end all – far from it – but developing an understanding of the world, how it works and how to apply knowledge to your advantage is so important.

The temptation you can’t resist...?

Anyone who knows me will also know that I have a weakness for champagne. It all started when we won in Variety Strictly Ballroom dancing competition. We celebrated with champagne and now I can’t resist it when the time calls for it – as long as we keep finding reasons to celebrate, whether that’s a business success, an awards presentation, a family celebration or supporting the achievements of a charity, I think it’s the perfect drink!

Someone or something that inspires you?

David Attenborough is a massive inspiration to me. Ever since he started

This month we speak to Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass about their daily lives and hobbies. If you would like making TV documentaries that drew attention to the need to respect nature and the environment, giving us a greater understanding of the impact we have as humans, I’ve been inspired to live a more sustainable life and run Morley Glass in the same way. King Charles is another person who I think has done a fantastic job of putting these issues into the spotlight, and not being afraid to raise issues that we need to take more seriously.

Their efforts have certainly encouraged me to think about how our business can operate more sustainably, and one of the big things that drives me today is waste minimisation, recycling and supporting micro-initiatives that improve our local environment. That’s one of the reasons why we invested time and resources in setting up our postconsumer glass recycling initiative with Saint-Gobain Glass. This has demonstrated – for the first time - that our industry can successfully divert thousands of tonnes of high quality waste glass away from landfill, with all funds raised being made available as £500 grants for charities, individuals and groups involved in environmental and social improvement projects.

There is nothing more satisfying than being able to operate a scheme that reduces our demand for raw materials and energy, while at the same time helping those who want to improve our local communities.

YOUR CAREER...

When and how did you join this industry?

I left school at the age 16 in 1980 with no job to go to. But then I saw an advert in the job centre for a trainee glass cutter with Radford Glass in Pudsey, which I thought sounded quite interesting, so I applied for it and got it! Once I’d got the hang of glass cutting, I quickly found myself working on the shopfloor working in all areas of manufacturing, before finally working as an installer. It was a rough and ready environment. , being a 500 sq. ft workshop in the barrel vault of an old mill.

Despite this it was an amazing foundation for what came next, which was my own venture in 1998, when I took the plunge and set up Morley Glass & Glazing in a 500 sq. ft space in the bowels of a mill in Morley. We had to cut all the glass by hand and buy all machinery second hand to get us started, such as glass washer, hot melt machine, and clamp table.

Morley Glass & Glazing grew quickly as we developed a good local reputation for doing what we say we’re going to do, and the business has gone from strength to strength ever since.

What is your job?

I founded the business and today my role is managing director. I still like to be very hands on and involved in every aspect of the business, but I have an amazingly talented team around me who I can trust to do a great job.

Your greatest achievement?

When I started Morley Glass, I believed that there was a potentially huge market for integral blinds in the UK and I wanted my new business to be a successful pioneer of what was a relatively new concept back then. But I wanted to do it right from the start, so I invested time in finding the world’s best manufacturer of integral blinds and set out to start making and selling units at my Leeds factory.

Twenty five years later, that decision that some people thought at the time was pretty risky has turned out very well. I’m immensely proud of what I’ve achieved in that time, taking the business from a start up with 4 members of staff to be the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke ScreenLine® integral blinds employing 106 people.

AND YOUR FUTURE...

What would you like to do if you weren’t in this industry?

Over the past decade I’ve got more involved in various charitable activities, which we’ve been able to support from a corporate perspective through our GreenVision fund, but also spending my time outside work helping out. Working with charities on a full time basis would be extremely rewarding.

I think it is important to give back to people wherever you can and help those who are trying to improve people’s lives or our world. This is particularly the case for charities like Leeds-based CATCH (Community Action To Create Hope) who help young people, many of whom live in disadvantaged communities, to be able to access the opportunities in life that many of us take for granted. Their ‘inspire to inspire’ mantra is something I completely support.

A particular ambition?

As you can probably tell, recycling is something I’m passionate about! Given what we’ve achieved with our glass recycling scheme in partnership with Saint-Gobain Glass, I would love to see a post-consumer building glass recycling collection and crushing plant in every large town. It would be amazing if we got to a point where installers across the window industry were routinely putting the end-of-life double glazed units that they remove during replacement jobs to one side, and making sure these could be sent for remanufacturing, rather than simply throwing them into a general waste skip.

When you see the amount of glass cullet we’ve already produced in two years by taking the post-consumer glass from a relatively small number of window installers, the potential to save the earth’s natural resources that are used in glass manufacturing is huge. That’s what drives me to inspire other individuals and businesses to set-up their own glass recycling plants, so we can try to bring to an end the wastefulness of what is a valuable raw material.

The way you want to be remembered?

I think to succeed personally and in business you have to avoid procrastinating and get one with things – “just do it!” Start by doing one small thing and other things will happen as a result – I liken it to throwing a pebble into a pond and watching the ripples roll out.