In brief: With current energy prices, heating a completely open-plan office when only a fraction of staff is present is illogical. Discover how smart zoning using system walls and automatic door bottom seals creates thermal barriers that not only increase comfort but also drastically reduce your energy bill.
Today's office demands a new approach
We live in a time when office use has fundamentally changed. Whereas floors used to be full from Monday to Friday, we now see a hybrid dynamic. On Tuesdays, it's bustling, but on Fridays, the lights and heating are often on for just a handful of employees. If your office consists of one large, open space, you face a costly challenge: you are climatizing the entire thousand square meters for the ten people who happen to be there.
This is not only a waste of natural resources, but it also directly impacts your profit margin. The solution lies in thermal zoning. By smartly dividing your office with system walls, you create enclosed zones that you can control individually. This way, you only heat or cool the places where people are actually living and working.
The system wall as a thermal barrier
A system wall is often chosen for its acoustics or aesthetics, but its insulating effect on thermal performance is often underestimated. Our Flex Magnet walls, for example, are constructed with a 45 mm rock wool core. While primarily intended for sound insulation, this material also acts as an excellent thermal insulator.
When you divide a large floor into smaller compartments, you prevent warm air from unnecessarily flowing into empty corridors or unused corners. You effectively create 'warm cells' within your building. As a result, your climate control system needs to work less hard to maintain a comfortable temperature, simply because the volume of air to be heated is much smaller.
Why the automatic door bottom seal doubles your energy savings
In a previous article, we discussed the importance of the automatic door bottom seal for acoustics, but in terms of energy management, this component is perhaps even more crucial. Warm air rises, but cold air (drafts) creeps along the floor. Without an automatic door bottom seal, you have a gap under every door through which cold air constantly flows.
Our solid HPL doors, equipped with an automatic door bottom seal, seal off the space airtight as soon as the door closes. This prevents the so-called 'draft' in a building. The result? The thermostat in a meeting room doesn't switch on as quickly because the heat stays inside and the cold air from the corridor is kept out. It's a small technical addition with a huge impact on your monthly costs.
Glass walls and natural warmth
Do you opt for glass, such as the Flex Light Deluxe? Then you benefit from 'passive solar gain'. Glass walls allow sunlight to penetrate deep into your building. In the winter months, this natural light helps to passively warm the spaces, while the double glazing with a 76 mm air gap acts as an insulating layer that retains heat.
The beauty of glass is that you maintain the visual openness of your office, while technically creating different climate zones. So you don't feel like you're 'in a box', but your wallet definitely notices the difference. According to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), smart zoning and insulation is one of the most effective ways to meet stricter energy standards for offices.
Flexibility: Adapting to occupancy
The biggest advantage of System Flex systems is their flexibility. The business market is volatile; teams grow, shrink, or change their working methods. A fixed plasterboard wall is static and results in an expensive renovation with every change. Our demountable systems make it possible to adjust your zoning to the actual occupancy rate.
Do you have a wing that you currently use sparingly? With our walls, you can compartmentalize this department in an instant, allowing you to turn down the climate control there without the rest of the office being affected. This is 'Agile' working in its most practical form: your building adapts to your consumption.
One point of contact for an energy-efficient process
At System Flex, we believe in the complete process. This means that when measuring the walls, we also look at the E and W installations. How is the air extracted? Where are the thermostat points? By strategically placing the walls in relation to your installation technology, you maximize the efficiency of your entire building.
Our expertise in disassembly and reassembly ensures that you can also implement these energy-saving measures in an existing building. We remove the old, inefficient structures and replace them with a modern navigation system for warmth and focus.
Conclusion: Smarter zoning means immediate savings
Energy saving in the office is not just about LED lamps and solar panels. It's about the fundamental question of how you manage your square meters. By stopping heating unused corridors and investing in high-quality zoning with system walls and automatic door bottom seals, you are investing in the future of your company.
You create a workplace that is comfortable for the people who are there, and efficient for the times they are not. That is truly sustainable business.