Jean Zeid 06:53, April 8, 2024
Every morning, Jean Zeid delivers the best in terms of innovation. This Monday, April 8, he returns to double glazing which reduces the carbon footprint.
It's time for Jean Zeid's Positive Initiatives, the chronicle of daily innovations. John, hello.
This morning, we are talking about double glazing which reduces the carbon footprint.
All solutions to reduce air conditioning in summer and heating in winter are welcome. The building sector is experiencing a small revolution. Innovations are multiplying in the face of new, ever more demanding environmental rules. New standards for new buildings which require limiting air conditioning or heating.
New players like Immoblade in Toulouse also want to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings to prepare them for global warming and gain market share.
What do they actually offer?
The idea of the two engineers behind Immoblade, Xavier Sembély and Patrick Callec, two former Airbus employees, is to revolutionize double glazing. Bay windows are energy sinks that let in the cold in winter, and transform the home into a kettle in summer, unless exterior blinds or air conditioning are installed. And in this case, the electricity bill explodes. Immoblade's invention is patented, and you will quickly understand why. It is nothing more and nothing less than a blind made of aluminum slats whose inclination has been made optimal thanks to an algorithm which has been calculated according to the building where the windows are installed. Except that the blind is not outside the window, it is inside the glazing, which allows the sun's rays to reflect on the slats to avoid penetrating inside the apartment or to let the rays in when it's cold.
And how much does this technology reduce the bill at the end of the month?
The start-up created in 2018 speaks of 10 to 20% of the total carbon bill of a building in summer and winter. It works in the opposite direction since their algorithm adapts the device. During the summer, when the sun's rays hit the glazing, they are reflected outward. In winter it is the opposite, they are reflected inwards to maintain a pleasant temperature in all spaces. As a result, the usage time of air conditioning and heating systems decreases. QED. This solution has already been deployed in two colleges and several schools in Toulouse as well as the Montpellier architecture school.
And the cost of maintenance?
No, it's maintained like regular windows. The windows are made to measure depending on the orientation of the building to be treated and as a result, they are glazing suitable for new buildings but also for older ones.
And this company's growth is expected to accelerate.
Yes, because Immoblade has not yet moved to the industrial phase, it is still tailor-made as I said. The company received aid of 350,000 euros as part of the France 2030 program to finally reach adulthood.