Utopia might lead to fewer existing conservatories being replaced by solid room roofs.
Palmer Market research says that 10% of the current annual volume of conservatories is replacements of existing conservatories. But these numbers don’t take account of those roofs that are replaced by tiled roofs.
Often the driver for replacement of a glazed roof with a solid room roof is the consumers desire to improve comfort levels in winter and summer without increasing energy costs for heating and cooling.
Until now, consumers had very little choice – upgrading to a solid room roof undoubtedly made the space more comfy but at the cost of removing huge portions of light, particularly in the adjacent rooms.
Enter Utopia, the first glazed ecoroof. With a U value not far away from a solid room roof Utopia offers fewer comprises too. Utopia has a U value of 0.6.
Utopia ecoroof has a centre pane U value of 0.60. When taking into account the thermal performance of the roof structure itself – based on the glazing bar – we see the following;
• Competitor glazing bar – U value 10.0
• Ultraframe glazing bar, chambered top caps – U value 5.0
• Ultraframe Utopia bar combination – U value 0.53
Utopia features existing Classic Plus roof, with its integrated tracks into which is snugly fitted a second layer of polycarbonate. The roof comprises 35mm Heat Guard Opal externally and 32mm Opal internally – this combination in association with the internal chambered ‘T’ claddings and chambered ridge undercladding gives blistering performance.
In fact utilising widely available weather maps to model thermal performance over a typical year, shows that a Utopia equipped conservatory uses about a half of the energy of an average ( 10 year old conservatory) whilst it uses about a third of one that is 15 years old. The benefits of upgrading an existing conservatory to Utopia are clear to see.
Ultraframe feels that the target market for this product could be;
- families who will use the room every day, all year round
- those specifically seeking the best performing product in a category
- those following a green agenda
- consumers who may also be looking at solid room roofs/tiled extensions but want a product that lets light in
Utopia is the very latest product in a long line of innovations from Ultraframe. It’s clear that there are a number of eager retailers who are aligned with the benefits of Utopia – so far over 40 have signed up to be in the first wave of retailers marketing the product ( and this is as well as the myriad of customers who saw the product at Glassex).
If conservatory roofs were WER rated, Ultraframe thinks Utopia would qualify as ‘A’ +
View a copy of this article as it appeared in Januarys edition of Conservatory Magazine
-End-
Ultraframe deliver innovative and top quality conservatory roof systems for the trade which suit all styles, all applications, all consumer types and which offer excellent value for money.
The market leading company invests heavily in research and development to provide the most technologically advanced and stylish conservatory roofing solutions, maximising light and space. Ultraframe are at the forefront of conservatory design and its systems are mainly used in the home improvement sector but also in new housing and commercial applications in the UK and Europe.
In 2006 the privately owned Latium Group, which has many interests within the glass & glazing and home improvement markets acquired Ultraframe. The Latium Group is owned by entrepreneur Brian Kennedy.
For further media information:
Mark Hanson
Ultraframe (UK) Ltd
Salthill Road
Clitheroe
Lancashire
BB7 1PE
01200 452375
mark.hanson@ultraframe.co.uk
