December 8, 2023

On Site | Passivhaus Project in Northampton

Written by Taylor Hall-Jones

Passivhaus Sliding Doors with Exceptional Thermal Performance

Foxcote is a recently completed glazing project located in the back country roads of Northampton. The IQ Glass team started the installation of several sets of slim sliding doors in the early months of 2023. The vast rear extension features living and socializing space which encases a large courtyard with bespoke tiling details.

The focus of Foxcote was to ensure that the sliding doors were compliant with Passivhaus standards. This would ensure that the thermal performance and energy efficiency of the systems was exceptional.

Due to the large sizes of the individual panes, the team hired a vacuum glazing robot in order to carry the glass through the site and into place ready for installation. The installation had to be perfectly planned due to the uncertain weather during the time of the year. If there was any rainfall or heavy condensation on the glazing, the robot wouldn’t have been able to vacuum the glass and ensure the connection was 100% secure. The PM team carefully studied the weather in the area and managed to select the perfect day.

While the weather was acceptable for glazing installation, the site grounds had been frozen over due to the light snow a few days before. This made the installation slightly harder due to the heavy machinery and install team having to work on uneven, frozen ground.

Overall the installation was completed smoothly with minimal issues. The slim sliding systems achieve Uw values of 0.75-0.95 for full Passivhaus certification.