SageGlass Helps Award-Winning Home Achieve Net-Zero Energy Efficiency

Date: 12 June 2012

Apple iPhone/iPad-controlled SageGlass tames the sun while preserving outdoor views in Virginia Tech’s breakthrough LumenHAUSThe award-winning solar home, Virginia Tech LumenHAUS, employs a breakthrough concept called Responsive Architecture in which the home automatically responds to changing environmental conditions to keep occupants continuously comfortable.

SageGlass®, electronically tintable dynamic glass from SAGE, plays an important role in this design, enabling maximum daylight harvesting while controlling the sun’s rays and preserving a view to the outdoors.

LumenHAUS, which won first prize in the 2010 international Solar Decathlon competition and was recognized at the AIA Convention as a recipient of the 2012 AIA Honor Award for Architecture, provides all the amenities of a modern home without using outside electricity. It was conceived and built by students and faculty of Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design. The net-zero energy home incorporates a number of cutting-edge technologies that work together to maximize comfort with environmental protection.

An array of SageGlass windows provides both automatic and manual sun control on the west facade of the building. As part of LumenHAUS’ Responsive Architecture, integrated daylight sensors automatically tint or clear the glass depending on the effects of sun’s rays. The occupants can also adjust SageGlass’ tint wirelessly through an iPhone or iPad-controlled management app.

SageGlass modulates light, heat gain and glare in LumenHAUS. Rather than using conventional sun controls such as mechanized window shades, blinds and louvers that tend to block sunlight and views, SageGlass provides a solution that enhances occupant comfort and enables unobstructed views to the outdoors. By regulating solar heat gain, it conserves energy and reduces the capacity requirements of HVAC systems.

LumenHAUS is the result of unique collaboration between academia, corporate partners, fabricators and material providers like SAGE. “One of the most significant measures of LumenHAUS is the connectivity of creativity and technology,” explained Robert Dunay, FAIA and Director of the Center for Design Research at Virginia Tech. The project’s educational goal is to develop architecture that challenges conventional practice and stimulates new considerations for residential living. Precise sun control is critical because LumenHAUS is completely solar powered. Other sustainable features include the use of passive-energy systems, radiant heating and building materials that are from renewable or recycled sources.

About SAGE Electrochromics, Inc.

SAGE Electrochromics is the world’s leading manufacturer of electronically tintable glass that can be tinted or cleared to optimize daylight and improve the human experience in buildings. SageGlass controls the sunlight and heat that enter a building, significantly reducing energy consumption while improving people’s comfort and well-being. SageGlass can reduce a building’s cooling load by 20% and HVAC requirements up to 30%. It is also a smarter, more elegant solution than conventional sun controls such as mechanical window shades, blinds and louvers. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered near Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., in the heart of “the Silicon Valley of the window industry.” SAGE is strategically partnered with the Saint-Gobain company of Paris, France, the global leader in glass and building products.