Radiant heat is the current heating concept according to which the new Vestaxx window glazing from Schüt-Duis functions. This enables Talishaus to use the Vestaxx heating panes produced by Schüt-Duis as standard for heating its prefabricated wooden houses.
As a start-up company, Vestaxx developed a functionally reliable and economically feasible technology for heating glass panes several years ago. Paco Schüt, managing director of the Aurich-based window and door technology company Schüt-Duis, was involved from the very beginning as a project-supporting producer and development partner.
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Schüt-Duis
The aim of the cooperation was to develop a technology for the serial configuration of heating panes that can be installed in window and door elements and used for heating buildings.
How does this heating insulating glass work?
The concept for heating a glass pane is relatively simple: a metal oxide layer nanotechnically applied to the glass surface is heated via a regulated 230 V alternating current. With this technology, surface outputs of up to 300 W/m2 are possible. The insulating glasses with integrated heating function achieve g-values of up to 50 per cent and Ug-values of 0.5 W/m2K with a light transmission of 70 per cent. The enormous potential of this innovative heating technology also aroused the interest of the Husum-based prefabricated house manufacturer Talishaus, which cooperates with Schüt-Duis.
As a trained mechanical engineer, Talishaus Managing Director Peer Gehrmann was more than just a business partner for Schüt-Duis for window and door elements; he was the decisive source of ideas for the technical development of such a system.
How is the new heating glass constructed?
The coating sits inside the insulating glass pane, so the pane also acts as an insulator in terms of voltage and protects against unwanted contact with electricity. But as is so often the case, the devil is in the detail.
One of the things that had to be solved in terms of voltage and safety was the edge seal of the safety glass. This is where an electrically conductive connection can occur. After cutting the delivered glass panes, which are coated over a large area, the coating must therefore be removed along the cut edges in order to prevent short circuits and voltage flashovers to persons via the edge seal.
Schüt-Duis
Since the market does not offer any standardised machines for this purpose, serial production in large quantities has not been economically feasible so far. However, this is a basic prerequisite for making window heating economically viable and offering it as a standard.
The technical solution for the production of the IG units
Together, a large-area processing module was developed on which a laser guided linearly in the x-y axis removes the edge coating with millimetre precision via evaporation on an area of approx. 3 x 4 metres.
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Only this fully automated process, from format acquisition to precise non-destructive removal of the coating, enables the economic production of argon-filled multiple glazing on a large scale, while at the same time ensuring a high level of functional safety.
How does Talishaus use the new heating insulating glass?
Talishaus specialises in timber houses in log and post-and-beam construction and now offers this building heating technology such as insulating glass as standard. Managing Director Peer Gehrmann is more than surprised by the high acceptance of this heating technology among buyers. It shows, however, how deeply building owners today delve into technical and ecological issues before making their decisions.
