DOE Unveils Zero Energy Window at Fall Membership Meeting

The ‘Next Generation Window’ could be available sooner than we think

NFRC members got a glimpse of the future of fenestration recently when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled its Zero Energy Window prototype at the Fall Membership Meeting in Arlington, Va. 

The prototype is a three-layer window with commercially available low-emissivity (low-e) technology and a Krypton gas fill. The window features a wood/fiberglass combination frame and SageGlass® electrochromic glazing.

The Zero Energy Window is the latest step in DOE’s low-e windows program, which has delivered economic, environmental and security benefits to America’s consumers and commercial interests.  According to the National Academy of Sciences, low-e windows, which work like mirrors to reflect radiant heat, will result in roughly $8 billion in energy cost savings over the life of the windows installed through 2000.

Full adoption of low-e windows in all new residential and commercial construction could save $2.5 billion annually in heating and cooling costs.  The impact on the environment is every bit as significant, with the use of low-e windows resulting in avoided life-cycle emissions of 68 million tons of carbon.  Better windows also enhance national security by cutting energy use, especially during winter peak demand months in the Northeast.  The less energy America uses, the less the country relies on foreign sources of oil.

DOE’s goal is to create a new generation of Zero Energy Buildings, and low-e windows are a big part of that plan.  Unlike many other building components, windows can be reduced to zero energy and, in many cases, can actually become net providers of energy to buildings, adding solar heat in winter and daylight to offset electric lighting year round.

DOE is currently exploring new concepts for highly insulating windows that could produce another doubling in energy efficiency.  Technologies under consideration for the next generation of highly insulating windows include vacuum glazings, aerogel, and low-cost, lightweight triple glazings that incorporate low-e coatings and gas fills.  Future zero energy windows will also incorporate dynamic glazings that allow for variable solar control.  Dynamic windows are currently available in the marketplace, but there is still a significant price premium.

Research and development investments and economies of scale can be combined to make these products common in the mainstream marketplace.  The future is now, and the next generation of windows has just begun to lead the way to better energy efficiency.

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NFRC Update | December 2006