Product · Building Envelope
Product · InnDex 65 · Evidence provided · High specification risk
Ultra-thin vacuum glazing (0.1mm cavity) for heritage retrofit without planning rejection.
Fineo is a double-glazing unit with a 0.1 mm vacuum cavity, micro-pillar spacers, and low-emissivity coating that achieves high thermal performance in a slim profile compatible with original timber frames. It addresses the heritage retrofit constraint where planning authorities reject thicker triple glazing on listed buildings. The vacuum eliminates convective and conductive heat loss while maintaining visual and structural compatibility with period fenestration.
Fineo solves a specific and otherwise very difficult problem: delivering triple-glazing thermal performance in a unit thin enough to fit original timber sash frames without triggering planning refusal on listed buildings. The deployments at Port of Liverpool Building and Watford Town Hall — both significant heritage assets — with Historic England endorsement are meaningful evidence that the product navigates the planning and conservation approval route in practice, not just in theory. For heritage retrofit work where conventional double-to-triple upgrading is ruled out by conservation officers, this is currently the most technically viable option on the market. The risk that deserves serious weight is the vacuum cavity's long-term integrity: edge-seal failure is not a gradual degradation but a sudden collapse of insulation performance, and any micro-breach over a 30-plus year lifespan requires full unit replacement rather than repair, in frames that may be structurally delicate. The micro-pillar spacers that maintain the 0.1 mm vacuum gap create thermal bridging and cannot be inspected or repaired independently. There is only one provided deployment evidence record, so the durability claims remain short-term and site-specific. For a specifier, the technology earns a closer look on heritage work precisely where no alternative exists; the decision should be anchored in a frank conversation about replacement logistics and lifecycle cost at unit failure, not just the upfront U-value.
Source URL yields only JavaScript loader code; product website content not accessible for verification. AGC manufacture and Energlaze distribution confirmed via reference. Historic England guidance existence asserted but specific document not verified. Named case studies (Liverpool, Watford) are real heritage projects but Fineo involvement not independently confirmed from this record. CE marking and IHBC CPD status claimed but not evidenced in excerpt. U-value of 0.7 W/m²K is plausible for vacuum glazing but not independently validated here. Installer network and certification structure stated but scope and quality unknown.
#vacuum glazing #heritage retrofit #thermal performance #listed buildings #thin profile #retrofit constraint