Saint-Gobain Glass has equipped the façade of the 1st passive social housing complex in France: La Clairière, located near Reims. This very low energy-consuming building incorporates Saint-Gobain’s most innovative glass solutions.

The project, comprising 13 social apartments, targets both the Bâtiment Basse Consommation, BBC Effinergie* label and the PassivHaus** label, two certifications offering energy efficiency levels 70% higher than the 2005 Thermal Regulation requirements.

This building is covered by 178m² of Saint-Gobain triple glazing. 90% of the surface of the main, south-facing façade is glazed, with a combination of low-e SGG PLANITHERM MAX coated glass and, in the centre, triple glazing made of extra-clear SGG DIAMANT. The spandrels add a security function to the low-e coated glass, with SGG STADIP PROTECT glass positioned on the interior face. In addition, 12 triple-glazing units were mounted with, on the inner face, a laminated SGG STADIP COLOR glass, its tinted interlayer giving color to the building.

Saint-Gobain triple-glazing improves the La Clairière building’s energy balance, through, on the one hand, the high and free solar energy gain in the building (solar g factor of 0.60) and, on the other, extremely efficient thermal insulation (thermal insulation Ug coefficient of 0.8 W/(m².K)). In this way, this glass solution saves energy and protects the planet by lowering the need for heating and air-conditioning. Last but not least, the luminosity performance is also most impressive (LT light transmission of 74%) limiting the use of artificial light.

* Certification requiring a maximum annual consumption of primary energy of 65 kWh/m² for heating, domestic hot water, ventilation and auxiliaries.

**Certification requiring a maximum annual consumption of total energy of 15 kWh/m² for heating.