Zenon Rooflights - living the BREEAM

According to The Building Research Establishment (BRE), a BREEAM certificate “demonstrates to everyone that claims of sustainability – and the benefits and value it brings – can be confidently accepted”. Achieving an outstanding result in the BREEAM assessment process is something at the top of the agenda for responsible specifiers and architects.

Hambleside Danelaw are the manufacturer of Zenon in-plane GRP rooflights, which were the first rooflights produced in the UK to be granted a product EPD – independently verified by the BRE - which, when specified, can contribute 1.5 credits to the Materials category of BREEAM. In addition to this, our rooflights can also contribute into two other BREEAM categories in building design and use.

Which Categories can Zenon Rooflights Contribute to?

In total, our Zenon rooflights can help reach the aims and objectives of three categories of BREEAM: Energy, Health and Wellbeing, and Materials.

Each category in BREEAM has different assessment methods and requirements to meet the standards necessary. But having Zenon rooflights in the design of a building will be a benefit when thinking of the three categories mentioned above.

Energy: Lighting up

The BREEAM category of Energy seeks to encourage the production of energy efficient buildings, awarding credits based on aspects such as the building’s energy use and carbon emissions.

Proper specification and deployment of Zenon Rooflights can deliver excellent diffused natural daylight and positively affect the all-important daylight factor. Therefore, as long as the building uses the right rooflights array, the need for artificial lights can be significantly diminished. Specifying Zenon rooflights in a building design can contribute to minimising operational energy demand, primary energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Health and Wellbeing: Looking up

There is no denying that sunshine brightens more than just the world around us. There has been extensive research into the benefits of natural daylight, specifically on mood and productivity and its positive effects in the face of seasonal disorders. Various studies have shown that daylight is a positive factor for healthier people, NARM (National Association of Rooflight Manufacturers) have produced a quick guide that showcases these benefits.

Health and Wellbeing, as a BREEAM category, encourages the production of buildings that provide a healthy environment for its occupants.

Zenon GRP rooflights offer even distribution of light. This reduces the contrast light and shade inside the building, aiding glare control by maximising daylight levels in all weather scenarios. This makes the building a healthier environment to be in.

Materials: Building Up

Zenon rooflights are able to contribute to two of the aims for the Materials category. As Hambleside Danelaw have a product EPD, this offers a transparent look into the item’s lifecycle. This is required for Mat 02, which aims to support the availability of robust and comparable data on the impacts of construction products through the provision of EPD.

Mat 01’s aim is about the use of products with a low environmental impact, and Zenon rooflights have an LCA that has been assessed using a tool recognised by BREEAM.

Evolving Sustainably

Zenon Evolution are GRP rooflights with low carbon embodiment with only 40% of the cradle-to-grave embodied carbon of a traditional rooflight with the same performance over the lifetime of a standard building. This makes Zenon Evolution the number one choice when specifying GRP rooflights with low carbon embodiment.

Hambleside Danelaw also manufacture the patented Zenon Insulator which is made from recycled wood pulp, making the insulation compostable at its end-of-life as well as being a thermally efficient insulation layer.

Developing Professionally

Hambleside Danelaw offer a wide range of CPD seminars such as ‘Low Carbon GRP Daylight Solutions for the Metal Building Envelope’ and ‘Understanding Rooflights, Reducing Risk & Cost’. To enquire about our CPD seminars, whether in-house or through video conferencing, email marketing@hambleside-danelaw.co.uk.

Our team have decades of knowledge and experience behind them and they will be delighted to help with any project.