Plus: four more green windows and doors for retrofitting your own home
Posted 11.09.2009 at 10:21 am
20 Comments
Clearly Efficient
John B. Carnett, PopSci’s staff photographer, is using the latest green technology to build his dream home. Follow his progress at popsci.com/greendream.
Peter Bollinger
With the efficient pre-fab panels that make up the walls of my home, it’s vital that I don’t let all the heat—and my budget—escape out my 47 windows. So the fact that I had my heart set on sleek aluminum frames instead of wood or vinyl posed some challenges.
Residential aluminum windows tend to be inefficient because metal is far more conductive than wood, allowing significant heat loss, so they’re mostly used in warmer climates. Commercial models use thicker frames with a strip of insulating resin as a thermal break between the interior and exterior. But the extra materials and complicated design raise the price, and commercial makers aren’t set up for small residential orders. I got an astonishing quote of $137,000 for a mix of casement, fixed and slider models.
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The Environment, Green Dream, John B. Carnett, energy-efficient, green dream, heat loss, November 2009, windowsBiltite Evolution—for the past two years.
His frames use four insulating techniques: two types of plastic thermal breaks, air pockets to help prevent condensation and three panes of glass with argon trapped between them. Since these don’t need to be as robust as commercial windows, Gordon uses thinner-walled aluminum, which keeps the price down, and dealing directly with the manufacturer (Gordon) cuts out the standard distributor markup. My total bill is around $55,000.
A simulation of the window design run by an independent testing lab showed that it would be 50 percent more efficient than a vinyl window, with a U-value (a measure of how well it conducts heat) of 0.21, low enough to qualify for an energy tax credit.
Next up: Turning the roof into a living room.
The Specs
House: 3,500-square-foot, four-bedroom contemporary
Location: Greenwich, N.Y.
Project: Install energy-efficient aluminum windows
Cost: $55,000
Time to install: About a week
Eco-advantage: Less heat loss than standard aluminum or vinyl windows
What's Inside Biltite Evolution Windows?: Peter Bollinger
- GLASS Three panels separated by pockets of argon, a common window insulator, add up to 1.5-inch-thick panes, twice as thick as standard residential windows.
- THERMAL STRUTSPairs of ¾-inch strips made of a strong glass-fiber-reinforced plastic called polyamide bridge the interior and exterior aluminum frames to keep heat from traveling through the aluminum.
- THERMAL DEBRIDGINGTwo narrow channels in the interior frame are filled with urethane, which cures in place. Then the aluminum in the bottom of the channel is cut away, leaving a urethane bridge that’s less conductive.
- AIR POCKETS A type of weather-stripping known as a fin seal, made of a synthetic material called wool pile, lines the perimeter of the sash and creates air pockets that stop cool air from reaching the inside and causing condensation in the winter.
Already have a home?
Four More Green Windows and Doors
- Clean Caulk
Sealing air leaks with caulk is the easiest way to reduce energy costs—up to 20 percent on heating and cooling bills. And now you can do it without trapping noxious volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with Smart zero VOC rubberized caulk, the first made without headache-inducing chemicals. $2.39; gardner-gibson.com - Eco-Door
Champion’s steel-and-fiberglass doors are the first to earn Green Seal certification, which evaluates a product’s manufacturing and life cycle. The company ensures that its materials have no lead or mercury, coats the door with low-VOC paint, and recycles its own scrap metal and water during production. From $1,500; championwindow.com - UV-Free Window
Huper Optik’s Ceramic 30 window film deflects up to 70 percent of the sun’s heat, helping to cool the home while blocking nearly all ultraviolet rays, which can fade furniture. The film is embedded with NASA-developed titanium nitride beads that block UV and infrared light, but let visible light through. From $7 per square foot; huperoptikusa.com - Greenest Glass
Soon your windows could double as solar panels. RSi’s 60-percent-transparent photovoltaic-embedded glass can produce about 36 watts from a typical three-by-four-foot window in direct sunlight and can be electronically frosted. It’s being tested on commercial buildings in California and could trickle down to homes as early as 2011. solar.tm
John B. Carnett, PopSci's staff photographer, is using the latest green technology to build his dream home. Follow along as the project progresses on his Green Dream blog: popsci.com/green-dream
Want to learn more about the environment, solar energy, sustainability, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
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although the thought of going green is very appealing and i would love the chance to save the planet as much as i can. the initial investment is often too overwhelming.
however i have been trying various other more doable green initiatives from this site. check it out!
maggwire.com/articles/index/category:green-living/published:year
Can you give us a contact or website for the windows.
The web site is now up-
http://biltite.com
Staff Photographer
Popular Science Magazine
For 55 you are dropping 1g plus instal on each of 47 windows.
That is more green being spent to be green than green is worth. R value is great, but the extra cost could have gone into green generation of energy for warming or cooling.
I have to agree with Oakspar77777 if you had started with a budget for the home and assessed the most green you could get for your green I doubt you would have ever chosen these windows. You learned about them, got emotionally attached to the idea. When you compared your initial quote with the new one you decided that it must be a good deal when in fact it was not a good deal but a less bad deal.
I think the better way to do that would be to compile a cost of the house versus how long the house last. cheaply made ineffecent houses are only built on the consept of lasting 5 years according to most builders. So if you take the average price of a new home versus 5 years you get the cost. If this house, while it may cost a lot, last for 10-15 years without any major repairs that would still be worth the investment.
Oakspar77777 - The house is positioned to take advantage of solar heat gain- The windows are MASSIVE and if you compared them to any major national brand of custom series windows you would see that they are LESS expensive and higher quality- For many people that are used to buying small standard sized windows this price may seem high- some of my windows cover rough openings that are 10' by 9' in size- you really need to consider the total square foot of all my windows prior to thinking that I have a bad deal-
Staff Photographer
Popular Science Magazine
Forfilling my inner saucer girl! LOL
John,
I'm suprised that you didn't look into a company called Viceroy Homes. They have a factory in Toronto, Canada. Or look at companies who supply for more extreem weather condition areas such as North Lake Tahoe, CA, rather than the subburbs of NYC. Viceroy supplies windows (Vinyl) for all styles of homes. Here (NLT) we build more into the hillside to take advantage of Thermal Heat. In saying that most garages are below the homes, so the garage windows are under snow for 8 - 10 months of the year. As you can see a leak issue would be a nightmare for foundations. This company's prices as well as styles I'm sure would have suited your tastes. www.viceroyhomes.com (most hof their designs are all windows) True "Green Building", is not expensive by any means. LEEDS, can attest to that in the US market. Making supplier choices, are what can make things expensive, ie: your first choice of window supplier.
There is no way an aluminum window frame is more thermally efficient than vinyl or fiberglass. I have aluminum windows with thermal breaks and all the other stuff and they still conduct massive amounts of heat and cold inside my home. Even with all the technology it's still metal. The only thing efficient about them would be the triple pane glass. The aluminum acts like a heating coil inside in the summer and a cooling coil inside in the winter. Structural-wise they may be your only option, but they are borderline efficiency obsolete in a residential application.
DELAY DELAY DELAY
Well once again my GREEN DREAM has hit a snag- Tom Gordon has indicated that he is going to be 75+ days BEHIND his original install schedule- So it's time for plastic to cover all my window and door openings- This will cause my entire project to be three months behind schedule- JOY- Pure joy!
Staff Photographer
Popular Science Magazine
Huper Optik is great to work with if you need a fall back plan. They are friendly, easy to work with and the price is right.
When it comes to trying to be green, the more money spent the less efficient you actually get.
Ask for Faisal Nazir. He has been a great help to me
PMT
I think in the scheme of all this, is very important to consider getting green furniture. I am pleased that some major manufacturer's are making important steps in the area of living room furniture www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=categoryHome&categoryName=Livingroom
The advent and true acceptance of green products is here and this article confirms it even more. The state of green technology has never been stronger thanks in part to the huge investment effort that has been made by Silicon Valley. Now top name VC firms are aggressively pursuing this green investment model and it is helping with the nationwide adoption of the concept as they find ways to make green products cheaper and better than the products they replace.
A growing number of brands have embraced environmental responsibility and now offer designs for every consumer’s taste and budget. From renewable materials and natural-fiber fabrics to more earth-friendly foam cushions, new eco-friendly features in furniture has hit retail stores in the past year. You can read more on this at www.sofasandsectionals.com/green-furniture-initiatives
I am a keen advocate of recycled and to this I look at the concepts of building from containers and connecting with second hand materials.
www.stoett.com
A two-and-a-half month delay!?!? Wow, I hope you are getting a discount on those outrageous windows. Frankly it just seems inconceivable to me that aluminum frames, no matter how many thermally insulating battens would be a more eco-conscious choice than say, UPVC. Good luck!
www.eurocell.co.uk
seems that Tom Gordon has a fan site:
www.tomgordonsucks.com
A two-and-a-half month delay!?!? Wow, I hope you are getting a discount on those outrageous windows. Frankly it just seems inconceivable to me that aluminum frames, no matter how many thermally insulating battens would be a more eco-conscious choice than say, UPVC. Good luck!
www.promdresspicture.com
وأعتقد أن في مخطط كل هذا ، من المهم جدا النظر في الحصول على أثاث الخضراء. ويسرني أن بعض كبرى شركات صناعة القرارات هي خطوات مهمة في مجال أثاث غرفة المعيشة
http://www.autonewstoday.net
Jag är en hängiven förespråkare av återvunnet och till detta jag ser på begreppen byggnaden från containrar och kontakt med andra handen material.
www.autonews-today.net
www.autonewstoday.org
www.AUTO-PLACE.COM
www.thaicarnews.com
Credo che nel sistema di tutto questo, è molto importante per pensare di farsi arredo verde. Sono lieto che alcuni dei maggiori produttori sono facendo passi importanti in materia di soggiorno mobili www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=categoryHome&categoryName=Livingroom camera
www.Auto-insight.ca
www.Autotodays.ca
www.camaro-2010.com
www.thaicarnews.com