Dr. Ted Kesik on Lumon’s balcony glazing systems

“It’s an easy choice for a developer as a value add-on”

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Lumon’s glazing systems add value to any balcony by turning unprotected outdoor spaces into places with protection from the weather, providing more room for life. For developers and architects, glazing provides an easy opportunity to implement a value add-on.  

In the big picture, the benefits of Lumon balcony facade, combining a stylish balustrade with easy-to-use glazing easily outweigh the reasons to not equip balconies with frameless, retractable balcony glazing. Ultimately, the solutions contribute to the sustainability, longevity, well-being, and economic value of multi-residential building projects.

A simple value-add with many benefits

Dr. Kesik from the department of building science in the University of Toronto has studied the benefits of balcony glazing in Canada. Fundamentally, he says, balcony glazing holds great, often overlooked opportunity for developers and architects. Kesik’s (2022) studies further note that Lumon’s systems have provided positive opportunity for achieving sustainability standards.  

“This is a system that is completely engineered by Lumon, so they [developers and architects] do not have to get into making all the detailed drawings and specifications, they just have to say ‘we want this system,’ and Lumon puts in the system… Which is a huge advantage, because it takes time to design and develop balcony enclosures. This is a completely thought-out, prefabricated system that’s customized to the application… It’s an easy choice for a developer as an add-on,” explains Kesik. 

Canadian projects (from left to right), The Union (Greater Toronto Area), Coco (Greater Vancouver Area) and Yorkson Park (Greater Vancouver Area) all come equipped with Lumon Glazing, providing city residents with more usable space and more resilient suites.

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Ensuring resiliency of balcony units

Kesik continues: “Fundamentally, you have a much more resilient suite… Environmentally, the energy loads are less, so we’re putting less stress on the energy grid.”  

In countries with longer winters and limited warm seasons, glazed balconies provide a great opportunity for expanding the living space of city homes while contributing to the overall energy efficiency of the home. As cities continue to be built ‘up’ and the size of city apartments diminishes, homeowners are granted with a versatile space for better urban living. In addition, noise from the surrounding streets decreases, and the overall health of the building structures is better maintained. Accessibility of the balcony space is now greatly improved.  

Towards passive systems in the modern building environment

“Currently, because we are looking at issues like climate change and also resource depletion, there is a very high interest in trying to make buildings as passive as possible. In other words, we want to put a minimum amount of energy input into buildings. Both in when we are building them in terms of the material choices we make, but also the operating energy of the buildings,” Kesik concludes.  

Passive systems benefit buildings by leveraging existing resources for optimal efficiency in terms of costs and environmental impact. Lumon’s systems provide an optimal avenue for creating buildings which harness the power of the environment in a safe and sustainable way.  

Download Dr. Kesik’s Energy Modelling Guidelines here: