Articles by Argile

In commercial buildings, a heavily glazed façade is often where everything is decided: summer comfort, draughts, and bills that climb without warning. In renovation, you can correct the weak points without halting operations on site, by securing airtightness, thermal bridges and the right level of insulation. With a simple approach and well-executed details, you turn a "handsome façade" into performance you can measure.

5 min read

On a job site, a renovation's impact also comes down to the materials you install, not just the kWh saved. With LCA (life cycle assessment), you have a simple method to compare two solutions, settle a debate with the client, and justify your choices without getting lost in spreadsheets. It's a way to steer your quotes with more clarity, and fewer pointless arguments.

5 min read

In renovation, your choice of materials can weigh heavily in a project's overall footprint, sometimes as much as the energy used while living in the home. Between insulation, joinery, systems and finishes, you have the ability to compare, arbitrate and clearly explain to your clients what really counts. With a simple method, you secure your decisions and showcase your expertise.

4 min read

An energy performance guarantee is not a turn of phrase on a quote, it is a contract with a defined content. The French order of 24 July 2020 requires a baseline built on at least three consecutive calendar years, expressed in kWh per year and adjusted for external factors, a savings target expressed as a percentage of that baseline, and a financial penalty tied to the gap actually measured. Here are those elements, and what they change about your exposure.

5 min read

A rendered external wall insulation system cannot be assessed from a single environmental declaration. It takes two, one for the insulation board and one for the render system, and the producer of the second says so in writing. On declarations actually registered with INIES, 120 mm of EPS weighs 5.88 kg CO₂ eq per m² over fifty years while the render system covering it weighs 32.1. Arguing about board thickness therefore misses the main item.

5 min read

When you optimise a building's envelope, its shape matters as much as its materials. A well-designed volume limits heat-loss surfaces, simplifies insulation, and helps you meet the Approved Document L targets without over-engineering the job site. In practice, it's a concrete lever for gaining performance, budget, and peace of mind, right from the sketch stage.

5 min read

On site, you already see it: jobs are split between maintaining existing networks and securing new uses. For you, as a tradesperson, the challenge is simple: knowing where tomorrow's demand will come from, and how to adapt your offer without spreading yourself too thin. Between renovation, more targeted connections and hybrid solutions, there are opportunities to seize — provided you read the trajectory before everyone else.

5 min read

In housing, cogeneration comes down to a single trade-off: overall efficiency is excellent as long as the unit runs long hours on the base load, and it collapses the moment the unit is sized on the peak. France's order of 20 July 2016 sets the only hard boundary in the subject, a micro-cogeneration unit being one with an installed electrical output of 50 kWe or less. Here are the advantages, the counterparts, and what to check before you price it.

5 min read

On a chiller, the heat rejected isn't wasted. Properly harnessed, it can cover a useful share of domestic hot water needs, without adding electrical power, and often with a fast payback on site when usage is regular. For you, as a tradesperson, this is a concrete solution to offer wherever cooling already runs year-round.

5 min read

In a retrofit, the hot water going down the drain can still earn you kWh, especially from showers and small multi-unit buildings. As a tradesperson, this is a simple option to build in when a client wants to cut their bill without major work, provided you spot the right uses and installation points. Here, we lay out the principle and the cases where it's genuinely worth it.

5 min read

On site, you're looking for insulation that performs well, is simple to install, and uses fewer resources. Materials derived from living organisms open up a real avenue, with a manufacturing process that looks more like cultivation than a factory. It gives you a way to offer clients a different kind of insulation — credible, but still with plenty of questions to settle before it goes mainstream.

5 min read

A thermodynamic heat-recovery unit is sold as ventilation that heats. The question nobody asks at quote stage is how much heat the supply air can actually carry, and that is bounded by the regulatory flow rates. We work it out here, along with what the French EPC keeps from the machine and what the decree of 17 November 2020 requires for the grant.

5 min read