The US embassy in the Belgian capital, Brussels, has benefitted from the application of exterior window film as part of a multi-national drive to promote environmentally beneficial building improvements.
The particular film used, though itself rather sophisticated, shares with ordinary conservatory window film the basic principle of reducing both solar glare and the force of the sun’s heat as it penetrates the glass.
By blocking out the sun’s heat many buildings have found that they can save considerably on the use of high energy-intensive air-conditioning units.
Solar film can also help block UV rays which are largely responsible for the fading that can occur on furnishings and other accessories.
The Belgian Embassy project – part of the ‘League of Green Embassies’ initiative launched to coincide with the recent European Energy Week by the 2011 Energy Efficiency Global Forum, an amalgam of governmental and non-governmental officials from countries around the world, – is interesting in that such heat-blocking window film initiatives are more commonly associated with hotter countries.
The fact that heat-blocking film has as much of a part to play in European buildings based within temperate zones as it does in tropical climbs implies that such ‘green’ film applications could in the near future be as common in UK buildings as the current incidences of, say, conservatory window film in Rochdale house extensions.
The addition of the window film was one of several environmentally beneficial touches conceived for the 230 year old Belgian Embassy building.