Good evening everyone!
We are currently about to submit the building notification in Bovenden, just north of the city boundary of Göttingen (Lower Saxony), and we just had our architectural meeting with the architect from our home builder FIBAV.
During the meeting, the topic of roller shutters briefly came up, and we said that we do not want any.
The response was that we should or must consider an alternative type of sun protection.
For us, the issue was settled: we currently live in a rental apartment owned by a Göttingen housing cooperative, first occupied in 10/2014, without roller shutters.
However, afterwards I felt somewhat concerned and asked by email.
The very quick reply was:
“Summer heat protection according to DIN 4108 Part 2 is mandatory and is calculated by [...].
This shows which rooms must be equipped with shading.
Provisions for possible later shading systems can be integrated into the façade either before or after construction.
Please discuss this with your construction manager. He can then coordinate it with the trades.”
It’s good to know that summer heat protection according to the standard is mandatory—also to prevent the majority of people from retrofitting energy-intensive air conditioning later, no question.
But is summer heat protection also a legal or otherwise mandatory requirement, or can we omit it without facing any sanctions—worst case, a forced retrofit?
If summer heat protection is somehow a sanctionable obligation: does it have to be an external shading system?
My wife cannot live without curtains, so we already have some form of interior sun protection—of course less effective than external shading, but present.
We will not install an air conditioning system later...
Regardless of whether it is mandatory: What are the most cost-effective options for reasonably effective heat protection?
Or is that already provided by curtains?
Best regards,
Christian
We are currently about to submit the building notification in Bovenden, just north of the city boundary of Göttingen (Lower Saxony), and we just had our architectural meeting with the architect from our home builder FIBAV.
During the meeting, the topic of roller shutters briefly came up, and we said that we do not want any.
The response was that we should or must consider an alternative type of sun protection.
For us, the issue was settled: we currently live in a rental apartment owned by a Göttingen housing cooperative, first occupied in 10/2014, without roller shutters.
However, afterwards I felt somewhat concerned and asked by email.
The very quick reply was:
“Summer heat protection according to DIN 4108 Part 2 is mandatory and is calculated by [...].
This shows which rooms must be equipped with shading.
Provisions for possible later shading systems can be integrated into the façade either before or after construction.
Please discuss this with your construction manager. He can then coordinate it with the trades.”
It’s good to know that summer heat protection according to the standard is mandatory—also to prevent the majority of people from retrofitting energy-intensive air conditioning later, no question.
But is summer heat protection also a legal or otherwise mandatory requirement, or can we omit it without facing any sanctions—worst case, a forced retrofit?
If summer heat protection is somehow a sanctionable obligation: does it have to be an external shading system?
My wife cannot live without curtains, so we already have some form of interior sun protection—of course less effective than external shading, but present.
We will not install an air conditioning system later...
Regardless of whether it is mandatory: What are the most cost-effective options for reasonably effective heat protection?
Or is that already provided by curtains?
Best regards,
Christian
crion schrieb:
However, afterwards I was somewhat concerned and sent an email inquiry.
In the very quick reply it said:
"Summer thermal protection is mandatory according to DIN4108 Part 2 and is calculated by [...].
It specifies which rooms must be equipped with shading as a requirement. crion schrieb:
But is summer thermal protection also legally or otherwise mandatory, or can we skip it without risking any penalties—at worst a forced retrofit? crion schrieb:
If summer thermal protection is indeed a mandatory requirement subject to sanction: does it have to be an exterior shading system?
My wife cannot live without curtains, so we already have interior shading—naturally less effective than exterior shading, but it exists.
We will not be installing air conditioning... crion schrieb:
At least if my wife keeps the bedroom windows closed during the day, which unfortunately is not always the case.
The kids have gotten through so far without serious problems; in summer it just gets really hot on a few days, that’s just how it is. crion schrieb:
I don’t want roller blinds because I know from my parents’ house the manually operated Venetian blinds, where either the strap is now in terrible shape (torn) or the blinds sometimes get stuck or break in other ways. I don’t want any more devices to maintain in or on the house—and especially with interior-mounted and plastered or wallpapered roller shutter boxes, repairing a broken strap/motor/remote control/roller blind or elsewhere would be a huge hassle—with 19 or at least 14 windows... crion schrieb:
However, my wife might get used to shutters; they could also be a design element—I’m afraid in red. crion schrieb:
I will look more closely at venetian blinds, maybe they are also significantly cheaper... Many quotes, I’ll keep it brief:
We also did not want to spend money on it but were then asked to sign for the architect’s records that we were informed.
Even our new office building, a low-cost construction, has thermal protection on the south-facing windows. So this thermal protection regulation does seem to exist—just look it up.
We then went for economical plastic roller shutters; everything else from the inside is useless or outside is more expensive.
And they are not electric. We are glad we chose roller shutters. We have many large windows on the south and west sides. Upstairs, we will probably get a fan, and if we build again, I would install air conditioning in the south and west-facing bedrooms.
Our office building: a disaster in terms of sun and heat protection. Heat builds up, and there is nothing you can do.
I’d say skipping this is like installing only cold water with a boiler in the bathroom. In today’s new builds, the budget-saving here is definitely a planning failure.
P.S. Interior thermal protection is new to me—isn’t it non-existent?
ypg schrieb:
P.S. Interior thermal insulation is new to me – it doesn’t exist, does it?! No, it doesn’t. Anything installed on the interior only blocks sunlight in terms of preventing fading. The heat energy is already inside the room and mostly stays there (except for minor amounts reflected by things like reflective blinds). Even covering windows with aluminum foil doesn’t make a noticeable difference. Tried all that last year. It just becomes dark and hot instead of bright and hot.
Alternatively, you can:
a) Design the house accordingly. For example, as mentioned, with fewer or smaller windows facing south/west. This might reduce the overall living comfort.
Or b)
Plan a large roof overhang (to block high sun) combined with appropriate landscaping (to shield from low sun). Depending on the floor plan, perhaps a covered corner terrace could be included, which would provide shelter for two large patio doors.
I also installed roller shutters throughout, which provide not only thermal insulation but also protection against unwanted views.
a) Design the house accordingly. For example, as mentioned, with fewer or smaller windows facing south/west. This might reduce the overall living comfort.
Or b)
Plan a large roof overhang (to block high sun) combined with appropriate landscaping (to shield from low sun). Depending on the floor plan, perhaps a covered corner terrace could be included, which would provide shelter for two large patio doors.
I also installed roller shutters throughout, which provide not only thermal insulation but also protection against unwanted views.
crion schrieb:
because I am familiar with the manually operated blinds from my parents' house,I don’t think you can compare them to modern roller shutters. With electric operation, you don’t have straps. Nowadays, do you even need to access the boxes from the inside? I would definitely recommend sun protection. As others have already mentioned: once the heat gets in, it’s hard to get out, and it heats up very quickly. Even in winter, on sunny days, we need sun protection.
H
HilfeHilfe22 Jun 2019 08:42denz. schrieb:
Alternatively, you can:
a) Plan the house accordingly. For example, as mentioned, with fewer/smaller windows facing south/west. This might reduce the living quality somewhat.
Or b)
Design a large roof overhang (for high sun) combined with appropriate planting (for low sun). Depending on the floor plan, maybe a covered corner terrace, so that two large patio doors could already be sheltered.
I also had shutters installed everywhere, which beside thermal insulation also provide protection against unwanted views. From what I understand, the original poster doesn’t want to invest money or maintenance. These measures cost money and require upkeep – nobody came for shutter maintenance in 5 years.
We have no inspectable access from the inside for the external venetian blinds and roller shutters. I’m not even sure if this complies with the energy saving regulations, as it represents a significant thermal bridge. Everything is accessible from the outside, so in case of any issues, it’s not a problem at all.
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