OUT IN FRONT Simple changes with sudden impact
Specifications
FEATURED PRODUCT: Triple pane switchable glazing
MANUFACTURER: Sage Electrochromics PURPOSE: Electronic control of solar heat gain
POWER SOURCE: DC current
SAVINGS CLAIM: 16% energy improve- ment over low-E triple pane glass; 50% improvement over single-pane glazings.
COST: varies with size and configuration
www.sage-ec.com
To make its new product, Sage took an R-8 insulated glazing unit with Argon or Krypton gas fill, and added a tintable
electronic layer to the inner surface of the outer pane. The amount of tint is controlled via a simple wall switch.
TRIPLE-GLAZED SKYLIGHT
Wasco Skylights
www.wascoskylights.com has added a triple-glazed, Low-E model to its residential product line, making it one of the first companies to do so. The new eMAX3 (pronounced “emax cubed”) should raise whole-window performance by as much as 55% when compared with a double-paned skylight with clear insulated glass, according to the company. It will also block 95% of ultraviolet rays and reduce window heat gain by as much as 69% as compared to double- pane clear glass. eMAX3 consists of inner and outer panes
of low-E glass and a middle layer of clear glass. The air spaces are filled with Argon. While low-E glass has become standard for moderating solar heat gain and controlling heat loss, Wasco says that it went a step further by selecting exceptionally clear Low- E3 from Cardinal Glass Industries. Skylights are self-flashing. Prices range
from $250 to $1,100, depending on size, whether they’re fixed or venting, and whether they’re manually operated or motorized.
High-Tech Super Insulated Glass
New triple-pane switchable window glass lets you lose the sun while keeping the view.
Sage Electrochromics calls its new SageGlass Triple Pane the world’s most energy-effi cient glass. That’s a bold claim, but the product is an impressive bit of technology. The triple-pane, gas-fi lled glazing comes with an electrochromic coating that takes on a dark tint when charged
with a weak DC current. The user controls the amount of tint via a wall- mounted dimmer. The company has had switchable glass for several years. What’s new is the marriage of that technology with the most effi cient window glass, with an insulating value of more than R-8 (that’s a U-value of .12) compared to R-3 for a typical low-E double pane. The switchable layer doesn’t aff ect
insulating value but rather lets users control the radiant heat and visible light that gets through. According to Helen Sanders, Sage’s vice president of Technical Business Development, SageGlass lets a user vary visible light transmission from 52% in the clear state to 3% when fully tinted. Even with just 3% of light getting through, the window doesn’t go opaque. “This is not privacy glass,” says Sanders. “It’s more like a pair of very dark sunglasses.”
2 GreenBuilder September 2010 Going from clear to dark also varies
solar heat gain coeffi cient (SHGC)—the percentage of radiant solar heat the glass lets through—from 0.38 in the clear state to 0.05 when fi lly tinted. By comparison, the company’s switchable double-glazed product off ers a SHGC range of .48 to .09. The customers for this product are
commercial glazing contractors, but it’s also being sold to window companies for high-end residential products; Marvin off ers the glass as an option on a limited number of its stationary units. The new glass could really earn its
keep on East and West facing facades, where low sun angles defeat over- hangs. The glass itself costs more than a standard triple-pane, but Sanders says it’s more accurate to compare window systems, since the ability to tint elimi- nates the need for exterior shading and interior blinds. “It’s a solution to solution comparison,” she says. GB
www.greenbuildermag.com
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