Anticipating today what will come tomorrow

Our society is evolving very quickly. We are waking up today to different issues than the generations before us. Our children will still have to take other standards, requirements and wishes into account. Companies like Renson offer architects, promoters, property developers and clients solutions to future challenges, which they already have to take into account today, for example the guarantee of a healthy indoor climate when building airtight, the overheating caused by global warming and the far-reaching drive for intelligent homes and buildings.

Controlled ventilation ensures healthy indoor air

We spend 85 % of our time indoors. Whether we feel good about ourselves and can comfortably enjoy the time we spend indoors depends on many factors: good air quality, adequate daylight, a pleasant indoor temperature and a minimum of noise and drafts from outside. Ventilation on a continuous basis is a must to achieve a healthy indoor environment.

It avoids unpleasant odors, allergies or other health complaints and prevents condensation problems and mold. With Renson's window vents, fresh outside air is continuously supplied into the home, without bothering with drafts and outside noise.

"Today we present the new Invisivent Comfort ventilation grille with self-regulating check valve and acoustic insulation, which ensures a controlled supply, especially in combination with the smart Healthbox 3.0 exhaust unit, which, as a 'moderator' within the ventilation system C+, indicates non-stop exactly how much fresh air is needed," says Paul Renson, CEO of the specialist in ventilation, outdoor awnings and terrace coverings from Waregem. "Since ventilation is only 'on demand' and room by room, there is no draught at all. Moreover, this ventilation grid was designed so that it can be concealed invisibly in the facade and can also be placed on the window as one airtight unit."

Outdoor blinds and nightcooling prevent overheating indoors

In addition to good air quality, a pleasant indoor temperature is also crucial for the comfort of humans, plants and animals. However, global warming is causing more and more hot days and heat waves every year, so we need to look for solutions to control indoor temperatures. An energy-guzzling air conditioner is out of the question, as it results in rising CO₂-emissions and in the longer term in even more heat waves.

Renson, however, developed a smart total solution for passive and sustainable cooling thanks to the combination of outdoor shading and intensive night ventilation (night cooling). "By cleverly deploying natural and energy-friendly elements such as light and air, you can keep it pleasantly fresh indoors even at warm times. Managing daylight is child's play with our dynamic and wind-resistant Fixscreen fabric awning. It is also the most efficient solution to prevent it from heating up quickly indoors, because outdoor blinds block the sun's rays even before they have a chance to reach the glass," indicates the CEO. "Larger streams of fresh outside air can in turn serve to cool it down inside at night. For that, we use large window grilles with mosquito netting and burglar-resistant slats. The combination of the Fixscreen exterior blinds and 'nightcooling' can lower indoor temperatures by up to 10°, without air conditioning."

Building automation on the road to smart living

We are also increasingly striving for smart homes and buildings that automatically meet the needs of their occupants and adapt to their lifestyle. Only when all the techniques and installations in a building can communicate with each other, exchange information and learn from each other is there truly smart living.

"Thanks to the recent acquisition of OpenMotics, the Ghent-based specialist in building automation, we now have our own concrete 'cloud' solution for the realization of intelligent buildings," says Paul Renson. "This cloud platform - a kind of Appstore of buildings - bundles everything for 'intelligent living,' in which a building eventually learns from the behavior of its occupants and adjusts services and techniques, such as ventilation, shading, heating, lighting, cooling, etc., accordingly. Thanks to all the data collected in the cloud, we can realize our baseline 'creating healthy spaces' in practice."