Stroomversnelling.nl
Youri Creutzberg is the director of BENGglas, a supplier of high-quality vacuum glass. Although the company has only been around for a few years, it is certainly no new kid on the block. BENGglas originates from Giga-Glas, a wholesaler that has amply earned its stripes in the construction industry. Youri Creutzberg: “De Rotterdam, for example, is a project we are proud of. We did the parapet for that. The Cooltoren and the Zalmhaventorens are also beautiful projects.”
We talk with Youri about the company and the product BENGglas.
Is BENGglas a part of Giga-Glas?
“Giga-Glas was founded about thirty years ago by my parents. It is a wholesaler in safety glass. Think of products like sound barriers along highways, or the glass used in bus shelters, balustrades, and parapets. So we have a long history in glass, but it was always safety glass, never transparent glass. In June 2020, we officially started with vacuum glass. We import that under the brand name BENGglas. We do this exclusively for the Benelux, a part of Germany, and Ireland. We decided to set up a separate BV for it, but BENGglas is essentially a family business as well.”
What attracted you to vacuum glass?
“If you look at an average, non-insulated cavity wall, you're talking about an Rc value of 0.4. If it contains single glazing, the Rc value is even lower, so that's really a weak link. Therefore, there is a significant improvement possible with good insulating glass. With triple glazing, for example, you're talking about a U-value of 0.8. But the downside of that—especially in renovations—is that you have to replace the frames. That is not circular and costly. Vacuum glass is a great solution then, because at 8.3 millimeters, it is very thin, so it always fits into the existing frames. Additionally, the U-value is only 0.4. Vacuum glass also has a longer lifespan, so in that sense, it is more sustainable, and the sound insulation is also very good. All in all, a revolutionary new step in the field of glass and insulation.”
Can you make a nice label jump if you replace single glazing with BENG glass?
“I was just talking to a housing corporation yesterday about a complex where this was indeed the case. But then you are talking about homes with single glazing and a large window surface. In such a case, it can happen that with just that relatively simple intervention, your label turns green again.”
What is the reason for BENGglas to become a member of Stroomversnelling?
“We are trying to create and seek out collaborations. To see where we can strengthen each other and come up with innovative solutions for the problems that are currently slowing down the energy transition.”
“We are also in contact with the Insulation Coalition, a party in the market looking for innovative products and solutions to accelerate the energy transition. Within that context, we want to conduct pre- and post-measurements at residential complexes and apartment buildings equipped with HR++ glass and vacuum glass, to gain better insight into performance differences in practice. Recently, we also established contact with Saxion University to set up a study.”
On your website there are a few examples of vacuum glass in monumental buildings
“We focus on both renovation and new construction. For us, renovation not only means contact with housing corporations. We also have many contacts with maintenance companies. And through the glass trade, the glazier, and the painter, we also serve the private sector.”
“With monumental buildings, you are not allowed to modify the frames, so vacuum glass is a great solution. The authentic appearance is preserved, but you do make the leap in U-value from 5.8 to 0.4. Vacuum glass is therefore increasingly prescribed for monuments. BENGglas can even be executed as monumental glass. For this, you take BENGglas as a base, and you essentially apply a third layer of drawn glass on top. There is a downside to this: the glass becomes heavier and thicker, and this solution is quite costly. An innovative product, but not always feasible.”
“We do see now that municipalities are becoming somewhat more flexible in the regulations, and for buildings they manage themselves, sometimes also allow BENG glass instead of monument glass.”
“And speaking of municipalities: we also see that more and more municipal sustainability desks, for example those of Amsterdam, The Hague, Nijmegen, and Den Bosch, are including vacuum glass in their advice to citizens. A positive development that we are really proud of.”
Source: Stroomversnelling.nl
View the original article
