Date: 10 July 2007
"With an R value of 7.7 (U-value 0.13 IP, 0.74 SI), the inside surface of the home's Heat Mirror insulating glass remains close to room air temperature," explained John Meade, Southwall's Director of Business Development, who worked closely on the project. "Heat Mirror is a better insulator compared to generic Low-E glass, which for comparison is also installed in the house."
On-going monitoring of the home's windows and other energy saving systems clearly demonstrates the superior insulating capabilities of Heat Mirror compared to the generic Low-E coated and non-coated insulating glass also installed. (Approximately 178 square feet of Heat Mirror is being utilized in the 1,300 square foot residence.)
"The installation of Heat Mirror in this US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded project demonstrates the DOE's commitment to advancing the use of glass products whose energy conservation performance far exceeds that of generic Low-E glass," declared Southwall's Meade.
Heat Mirror, a technologically advanced low emissivity and solar reflective film, can be mounted inside an insulating glass unit in a variety of configurations (one or two coated films, clear or Low-E glass) providing energy conservation performance ranging from R 6 to R 12 to meet the unique requirements of individual new construction and renovation projects.
Home to a family of three, the Colrain residence was built for less than $200,000 with a grant from the DOE. The house utilizes state of the art energy conservation systems including photovoltaics, expected to provide 74% of the home's electricity needs, and a solar thermal system that should supply more than 44% of space and water heating. Energy efficiency features include a 12" double wall system, a tankless water heater, ENERGY STAR appliances, fluorescent lighting, blown-in recycled cellulose wall and ceiling insulation and durable fiber-cement siding.
Eco-Insulating Glass Inc., Mississauga, Ontario fabricated the home's Heat Mirror units which are components of windows from Paradigm Windows, Portland, Maine. Built by Rural Development, Inc., the Colrain home is a DOE funded Building America Initiative, part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes project of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Instrumentation to seamlessly download data monitoring the performance of the home's windows and other energy systems was designed and will be operated by Steven Winter Associates, Norwalk, CT.
Southwall's Heat Mirror insulating glass units are available for commercial and residential installation from over 50 window and insulating glass manufacturers.
Southwall Technologies is recognized worldwide as the leading innovator in the development and manufacture of high performance, energy-saving films and glass products.
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