Glidevale Sunscoop tubular rooflights have been used to optimise natural daylight at the Aurora house, a low energy home developed in partnership between South Lanarkshire college, Dawn Homes, Oregon Timber and industry suppliers

The home is claimed to achieve the equivalent of level five for energy performance under the Code for Sustainable Homes, and similar levels in categories such as wellbeing, while still being comparable in cost with a conventional timber-frame house.

The Sunscoop uses a circular roof-mounted clear dome to transmit daylight down a highly reflective tube into rooms and corridors below. Tests at the Silsoe Research Institute showed even the smallest 250mm diameter standard SunscoopSR95 gives up to four times more light than a single 60W bulb.

As well as the Sunscoops Glidevale鈥檚 Protect TF200 Thermo vapour-permeable breather membrane for timber-frame panels has been used in conjunction with the company鈥檚 VC Foil highly reflective low emissivity vapour control layer to minimise heat loss through the walls of the home while optimising warmth. Installed in timber-frame walls with a 20mm airspace, Protect VC Foil achieves a U-value of 0.67W/m2K, which is equivalent to at least 34mm of mineral wool, helping to achieve the required U value with a lesser thickness of insulation, says the company.

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Specifier 15 January 2010