Breezway® Altair® IGLU® Double Glazed System

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  • 2023

  • Product
    Hardware and Building

Commissioned By:

Breezway Australia

Designed In:

Australia

The Breezway® Altair® IGLU® Double Glazed Louvre is the first Australian designed double glazed louvre. It is a high-performance system that integrates the advantages of double glazing, and the excellent ventilation properties inherent in louvre windows with innovative manufacturing processes making it cost-effective for specification in the residential housing market.


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Image: Steve Neil
Image: Steve Neil
Image: Steve Neil
Image: Steve Neil
Image: Steve Neil
  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE
  • Primarily driven by the changes to energy efficiency in the National Construction Code, the Breezway® Altair® IGLU® Double Glazed Louvre was developed to prepare for these stringency increases as they occur. The design challenge was to integrate double glazing into a louvre window, but to be suitable for a residential housing market the window needed to be cost effective, visually minimalist, be compatible with various supplier frames and exceed the performance requirements set by the relevant Austalian Standards. The style had to portray a modern aesthetic suitable for an architecturally designed home, and a visual quality synonymous with Breezway products.

  • Using innovative assembly methods for insulated glazing units (IGU) - featuring embedded sealing, frameless glazing, and manufacturing efficiencies inherent with the simple design compared to other IGU louvres, the IGLU® System is considerably more affordable than existing IGU louvre products. This enabled the product to be priced competitively amongst other double glazed window types. The two layers of low-e glass, argon gas fill and foam spacer maximise thermal performance for an IGU of this size. The internal ceramic coatings hide the spacer and silicone sealants for a high-quality visual finish while the side-stepped IGU enabled an ultra-flush and modern appearance.

  • The thermal benefits of the IGLU® System improve the thermal insulating properties by 24% compared to our single glaze product with low-e glass, reducing energy costs in winter. With the option to passively cool through the 90% openable area in summer, the IGLU System can create year round comfortable living spaces. Cost effective manufacturing processes enable the IGLU System to be priced competitively, and extensive product testing mean it meets the harshest Australian conditions. This includes water penetration resistance and ultimate limit state ratings suitable for the most extreme residential cyclonic regions (C4), and bushfire resistance ratings up to BAL-40.

  • The IGLU® System is compatible with other Breezway® systems which enable a wide variety of use case scenarios. This includes the patented Stronghold® System making the IGLU System compliant for use within fall-prevention specified builds, the Powerlouvre™ System which enables powered window operation and the option to be connected and controlled by building management systems. The composition of the IGU utilises two layers of toughened glass which make the IGLU System suitable for specification in human impact areas, and areas where barrier loadings of up to 750N of force are required. The IGLU System was tested for acoustics and yeilded improvements in airborne sound isolation compared to our single glaze product, improving the performance from Rw28 to Rw30. The quality of the IGU has been quantified through a succesful independent long term type test as specified by Australian Standards.