A surge in interest in Passivhaus design and construction prompted REHAU to host a seminar dedicated to the technologies at its Blaenau manufacturing facility recently.
The polymer specialist teamed up with BRE and commercial fabricator Solar Windows to give architects, contractors, developers and public sector clients an insight into the requirements of Passivhaus principles and the potential benefits in terms of lower energy costs.
With its parent company based in Germany where Passivhaus is already a mainstream construction solution, REHAU not only has a range of products which are Passivhaus certified but also has extensive experience in meeting specifications in both domestic and commercial projects.
More than 25 delegates attended the seminar from across North Wales including representatives from local architects, surveyors, councils and health authorities. Amongst these was Derec Jones from Dobson Owen architects who said that his firm was starting to examine the potential of Passivhaus construction and had found the event particularly worthwhile.
With an emphasis on education rather than sales, the seminar allowed delegates to explore some of the more complex aspects of Passivhaus design and to see close up how the features of a product like REHAU’s GENEO® self reinforced window and door system and REHAU AWADUKT Thermo ground – air heat exchanger make them suitable for Passivhaus specifications.
Solar Windows, which is one of the largest specialist commercial fabricators in the UK, was at the event to demonstrate successful applications of the GENEO® technology in the UK.
The event proved so successful that REHAU has already hosted a similar seminar in Chichester for clients in the South of England and has a third seminar in London scheduled for September.