Energy-efficient window line announced

Kolbe has a new series of windows out, the Windquest EP line, that the company says exceeds 2010 Energy Star criteria for all climate zones in the United States. The line is available as casement, awning and studio windows.

According to a Kolbe press release,

These windows achieve energy performance ratings that put them in the top tier in the industry with U-Values of 0.18/.19 and R-values of over 5, along with Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of .23. These insulating values are nearly twice as good as those currently required by Energy Star. Our units allow for a maximum air infiltration of only .01 cubic foot per minute, which is 30 times better than the industry standard.

Windquest EP windows come standard with a special combination of high-performance LoE coatings on the glass to optimize U-value, visible transmittance, solar heat gain coefficient, and external appearance.

In an interesting marketing note, I see that Kolbe is pushing this news on its Facebook page.

Making old homes more energy efficient

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has launched a Weatherization Guide for Older and Historic Buildings. The site includes some interesting advocacy for keeping historic windows in place:

Going green is about more than just energy performance. To determine real environmental impacts, one must take into account the embodied energy of the new and existing windows, the environmental impacts of manufacturing new products, and the expected lifecycle of the product. Embodied energy includes the energy required to extract the raw materials, transport them, make them into a new product, ship the product, and install it. Existing historic windows have all of this energy embodied in them. Tearing out historic windows for replacement units not only wastes embodied energy, it requires additional energy to remove and dispose them. This is on top of the energy required to create and install the new windows.

Vinyl window and door recycling paper offered

The American Architectural Manufacturers Association's Vinyl Material Council and the Vinyl Institute have issued a white paper on recycling vinyl windows and doors.

The paper includes lots of facts on the green qualities of vinyl, the ease with which it is recycled, case studies, and an effort to put some funding behind encouraging post-consumer recycling. As one would expect, given the sources of the paper, there is nothing here about the disadvantages or challenges posed by vinyl use. But if you can edit out the propaganda and posturing, there is a lot of good info in this free report and the associated docs. Check it out.

AAMA in Translation

After I posted the AAMA's response to the proposed Department of Energy's Energy Star window standards, I had second thoughts about regurgitating the association's very dense and tech-heavy points without really explaining them. So I called the organization and spoke with AAMA technical director John Lewis. Here's what he said about each of the AAMA's points (original suggestions are in italics).

A two-stage phase-in with Stage One implemented one year after the program parameters are finalized (mid-2009); and Stage Two implemented in 2014.

The DoE's Energy Star proposal seeks a 2009, 2012, 2015 rollout. But a more realistic timetable may keep participants in the program who might otherwise drop out if the proposed, more onerous schedule is adopted.

U-factor and SHGC values be brought in line with aggressive goals as predicted by industry experts as attainable within six or seven years.

U-factor is heat flow (like R-values in insulation). SHGC is solar heat gain. Low SHGC means reflecting off energy and using less energy for air conditioning -- important in the South. High SHGC values are better in the North, where you want to absorb heat from the sun. Anyway, the Department of Energy is pushing standards so high that they would require a "triple glazing" approach. That would mean product redesigns for thicker windows. The AAMA wants to delay the adoption of those higher standards so that "compliance can be gained in a way that does not require a dramatic redesign of products" -- and to let the technology improve. In a few years, researchers may well find a way to hit the same efficiency values with a "double glazing" approach.

Alternate compliance paths coupled with realistic program parameters that maintain a consistent and clear message to the consumer via the Energy Star label.

This is a suggestion to recognize that window performance is more than just a specific particular combination of particular U-factor and SHGC values, and that other equally efficient products could have other values, such as a lower SHGC to compensate for a higher U-factor. 

Careful cost-benefit or payback analysis that evaluates decreasing demand for more expensive products, while accounting for price elasticity.

Some AAMA members say that the new requirements will raise the cost to make products. Will that make consumers less likely to buy? What's the consequence of decreasing the amount of Energy Star product in the market if the price goes out of reach?

Closer alignment of the five Energy Star zones with those provided in the IECC climate zone map, and redefinition of the Northern Zone parameters.

Best way to explain this is with maps. First, here is the proposed Energy Star climate zone map:

Next, here is the IECC's climate zone map of the United States:

Note the area circled by the AAMA in red -- the association suggests another look at parts of Idaho and eastern Oregon and Washington. 

Well, I hope that gives a better picture of the factors in play with these proposed Energy Star window ratings. Many thanks to the AAMA's John Lewis for the clarifications.

AAMA responds to new Energy Star window ratings proposal

The government's Energy Star program includes a component that rates windows, and that program is undergoing revision. I got a press release from Heather West at the American Architectural Manufacturers Association touting the AAMA's feedback to the proposed revision. The AAMA has the following goals, according to the press release:

• A two-stage phase-in with Stage One implemented one year after the program parameters are finalized (mid-2009); and Stage Two implemented in 2014;
  
• U-factor and SHGC values be brought in line with aggressive goals as predicted by industry experts as attainable within six or seven years;
  
• Alternate compliance paths coupled with realistic program parameters that maintain a consistent and clear message to the consumer via the Energy Star label;
  
• Careful cost-benefit or payback analysis that evaluates decreasing demand for more expensive products, while accounting for price elasticity;
  
• Closer alignment of the five Energy Star zones with those provided in the IECC climate zone map, and redefinition of the Northern Zone parameters.
  

Note: I updated this post here.