Wow! What a couple of weeks for “new” stuff! First off, congratulations to TRACO, Sage, Quanta Technologies, Southwall, Soladigm, CPFilms, Applied Materials, EverSealed Windows, Pleotint and 3M for winning the Advanced Energy-Efficient Building Technologies grant from DOE. No doubt, we’ll be watching as your projects and products develop. We’re expecting great things.
Speaking of great things, even though reviews of the AIA show have been mixed, I had a great show. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been to one in a while, so the same old stuff is new again – but it sure didn’t seem like it. Maybe it’s energy codes or the tax credit or the new R-5 program or just it’s that time in the development cycle. Whatever it was, I had the feeling that product producers had spent the last year or so really stepping it up – tweaking and twisting around old technologies in new ways. These were the trends I was excited to see:
5. LOTS of thermal break strategies: It used to be you had a plain old pour-and-debridge break. Then came strut systems. At this show, I don’t think I saw the same configuration twice. In particular, Kawneer’s Trifab® 451UT stuck with me.
4. More than aluminum. While it’s no surprise that alternative materials continue to try to erode dominance in the commercial market, actually seeing a competitive product is somewhat novel. I’ve been watching the phenomena over the years and what I’ve noticed is that more often than not, these alternative materials look like converted residential windows (like the company that shall remain nameless who put an aluminum shell around their product to display it at the show– so not cool). Definitely not the case with the line VEKA was showing. These tilt-n-turns looked like commercial windows, with the bracing and consequently DPs to prove it. Maybe they haven’t quite made the AW category yet, but I tend to think that VEKA won’t rest until they do.
And it’s not just traditionally residential companies either. Graham has added glass reinforced polyurethane pultrusions in their GThurm line . When Tecton bowed out of the commercial market several years ago, I thought that was the end. Apparently not…here goes round two (or is it three?).
3. Shading gets automated. As long as there have been windows, there have been shades. The big problem though has always been occupant operation. If Honeywell roulette wreaks havoc on a heating and cooling system, shading’s a double whammy, not only affecting that but also the lighting systems. Now, in the age of wireless and blue tooth, we’re seeing a plethora of controls to circumvent that pesky occupant who really doesn’t know what’s good for them or the bottom line. Okay, I’ve taught consumers long enough to know that it takes a lot to change behavior, but effective systems can get by the occupant because out of sight is out of mind. If the occupant doesn’t think about glare or feel the hot spot, they won’t act upon changing the environment and screw up the works. MechoShade Systems was arguably the slickest, touting their LFI Innovation award, their connection with LBL and the NY Times Building case study. To their credit, they also offered a range of control systems from ultra automated to economical limited zones.
2. Daylighting comes of age. I loved Oldcastle’s light shelf . I admit I was behind on the tech as I found out that other manufacturers have them and they’ve been around for a while. Still, I stand by my Oldcastle call out, because I really liked the look and line of Oldcastle’s. In case you missed it too, according to the University of Minnesota, a light shelf is “an internal and/or external overhang with a reflecting upper surface normally above head height, designed to reduce glare near the window and improve illuminance uniformity along an axis normal to the window wall.”
Light Louver is one of those interesting twists I mentioned above. It looks like a traditional blind, but when you take a profile look, it’s like a stack of NIKE logos. The angle of the slats better bounces the light toward the ceiling, sending it even deeper into the interior zone. Installed on the upper third of the window, it purports to offer twice the energy savings of a conventional light shelf at a third of the cost. I would have missed this product had I not bumped into a colleague from the ratings world, who turns out to be one of Light Louver’s principals. This is a classic example of why walking the show is so important – Michael not only showed me his latest innovation, but insisted I take a look at one he was excited about…
1. Harnessing passive solar design. Michael was completely right – and I would have missed it if I hadn’t bumped into him. Recessed into the interior of the Hunter Douglas booth was a concept product that they were getting opinions on. By far, this was the epitome of improving on old-really old-techniques and the most innovative product I saw at the show (arguably the most since I saw my first electrochromic). Using thermal mass as a heat sink to absorb the sun’s radiation to be released later is thousands of years old. Combining the heat sink with the appropriate high emissivity glass and shading device in a single, install-like-any-other-window is bloody brilliant. Dubbed the solar window, HD not only had an opaque configuration (which is expected) but they also had in CLEAR, as in see-through (completely UNexpected). Of course, I see this through energy nerd glasses, so what I think is cool is not necessarily what is going to sell. But I can’t wait to see if HD does decide to take this to market. I already have a green developer buddy who’s interested in taking it for a spin.
Yet, as excited as I am about the variation in strategies, that excitement became rightfully tempered after a conversation I had over testing. One manufacturer (quite proud of their system) asked why I wasn’t going name their product on this list. I told him truthfully that I was skeptical of the product performance because I didn’t think the technology could actually get to the quoted performance level nor did I put much faith in their test report because it wasn’t NFRC. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was unfair to single out one manufacturer on the latter technicality. In fact, this was a pervasive problem for many of the technologies listed here, with the test reports being obsolete, unrecognized in the code arena or non-US. For others, performance data couldn’t be isolated because the product was a single component. Or lastly, an NFRC mechanism for evaluation simply does not exist. Without an established and followed test method, did I really have the right to pass judgment that the product couldn’t perform? Or in the case of my top pick, could I say that it would perform for that matter?? I think it will, but I don’t really know for sure. I admit this a bit sheepishly, because I spent years telling people to look at the label, because you couldn’t SEE the efficient technology because the function of a fenestration was to see through.
Such is the challenge – technology will always outpace standards and the like. So I’ll be looking to see how these ‘new’ products actually perform and wear over time. It’ll be exciting for sure.


