Scottsdale's ideas for Green Remodeling

Here are some thoughts from Scottsdale Arizona about everything from water conservation to flooring to heating sources.

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Triple Threat Windows

residential architect magazine:

Excerpt from the:

Triple Threat

highly insulating windows are effective, but are they worth the price?

By:nigel f. maynard 

  

Traditionally, windows have been the weakest energy efficiency link in a building envelope, and early single-pane openings were the most egregious offenders. According to www.efficientwindows.org, single-glazed windows with clear glass allow “the highest transfer of energy (i.e., heat loss or heat gain depending on local climate conditions) while permitting the highest daylight transmission.” No wonder such windows are practically extinct in residential architecture.

The standard today is a double-glazed low-E window with insulation between the panes. A vast improvement over a single pane, insulated windows are better at preventing heat loss and heat gain, keeping the internal temperature of a house relatively stable. Depending on your region of the country, such a window—if it’s Energy Star rated—has a U-factor (the rate of heat transfer and an indication of how well the window insulates) of 0.30 to 0.60 and a solar heat gain coefficient (which indicates how well the window blocks heat caused by sunlight) of 0.27 to 0.40. Still, the best double-pane window is inadequate compared to the exterior wall.

In recent years, a new breed of windows—the so-called ultra high-efficiency products—has been gaining traction and things have gotten quite interesting. The windows are usually twice as efficient as double-pane units and some narrow the performance gap between the opening and the wall on which they’re installed.

Energy Star–rated windows typically hold an R-value of 3. By increasing the R-value from 3 to 5, average heat loss through the window is reduced by 30 percent to 40 percent. Designed for new construction and replacement projects, the windows can achieve a U-factor as low as 0.15.

R-5 windows are the lowest-performing product that Intus Windows offers. Managing director Aurimas Sabulis says the problem with most window companies is that their products aren’t versatile enough to be effective throughout the United States. Intus, he says, specializes in high-performance windows that cater to any region of the country. “One solution does not fit all,” he notes. “The U.S. has seven different climate zones.”

Intus, a Lithuania-based manufacturer that recently set up a U.S. division in Washington, D.C., offers all-wood and aluminum-clad wood windows with R-values up to about 10. The company also manufactures Passive House–certified products, which is why students from Parsons The New School for Design; the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School; and the Stevens Institute of Technology selected the windows for their Empowerhouse project, an entry in the 2011 Solar Decathlon.

“The Intus windows give us an overall annual energy gain,” says Laura Briggs, faculty lead and chairwoman of sustainable architecture at Parsons. “Our team carefully analyzed the size and placement of the windows in order to take full advantage of solar gain and daylighting to improve comfort and meet Passive House standards.” Briggs adds that the right sizing of the windows also was an economic choice. “The Intus windows are beautiful wood frames that are meticulously designed, specifically to reduce thermal bridging by having few conductive breaks in the frame,” she explains. “They prevent air infiltration due to the fully gasketed sashes and the triple panel gives us the U-values we wanted to attain.”

The DOE states that there is no specific definition for “highly insulating” windows, but the agency says the term usually refers to windows with a U-factor of around 0.2 or less for fixed units (venting units must meet 0.22). “Typically these are triple-pane windows with advanced features such as gas fills, suspended films, advanced spacers, and low-E coatings,” according to the DOE. “A U-factor measures a window’s insulating abilities; the lower the U-factor, the less heat loss through the window.” The windows’ good U-value ratings make them ideal for cold climates when you want better insulation and resistance to heat flow, but some architects also use the products in warm climates.

Architect Eric Lewis, AIA, LEED AP, used the windows on a Baltimore row house when he wanted to maintain views with large glass openings and high performance. “Because of the orientation of [the north side of the home], we used triple-insulated windows so we would still get our R-value and plenty of views and openness,” says Lewis, a senior associate at Alexander Design Studio in Ellicott City, Md.

 Intus Windows’ Sabulis says  “We have figured out how to do triple-pane windows for the lowest possible cost,” he says. Without giving away any secrets, Intus claims it offers products at 20 percent to 30 percent less than other manufacturers, which means a typical 4-foot-by-2-foot window will cost roughly $300 to $400.

The DOE launched the High Performance Windows Volume Purchase Program. “The goal of the program is to expand the market for highly insulating windows and low-E storm windows by reducing market barriers and offering windows products at attractive prices, thus making highly insulating windows more affordable,” the agency says.

World Class Supply carries Intus super performance windows, doors and curtain walls

INTERVIEW: Building Science Pioneer Dr. Joe Lstiburek on the Good, Bad and Ugly Side of Buildings

Posted By Andrew Michler On March 11, 2013 @ 12:05 am In Architecture,Interviews,Sustainable Building 

The term ‘building science’ is used quite often now in sustainable building circles, but much of what we understand of it can be traced back to the work of Dr. Joe Lstiburek ^[4], founder ofBuilding Science Corporation ^[5]. He is anything but your typical engineer ^[6] or scientist who spends time crunching numbers or hiding away in a lab. Lstiburek has spent most of his career out in the field, testing and examining what works and what doesn’t. Many of the building standards today — from building codes to ASHRE to testing methodology — have his finger prints all over them, and his tough love criticism of building design is undercut with his wry humor and, of course, an encyclopedic knowledge of building construction. Read on to learn where buildings go wrong and what we can do about it.

Inhabitat: What does building science really mean? Did it not exist 50 years ago?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, it always existed. It’s really the technical side of architecture ^[7] that architects gave up. If architects did their job there wouldn’t be any need for building science. You know, I’m flabbergasted by the architectural profession giving up control of such a profitable part of the industry, which is the interaction of the building enclosure with the climate and the people and the mechanical system.

You know, this occurred because of the change in the focus on the education of the architects, the school. They’re focused – they’re trained in art. They’re not trained in physics and material science to actually execute their designs.

Back in the day, 100 years ago, or maybe 50 years ago in Europe, architects were trained like master builders. They understood structure. They understood mechanical. They understood physics. They understood material science. They understood how everything worked together. The focus now on the architectural education is all art and what’s missing are all of those other pieces — one of those missing pieces is building science or building physics.

Inhabitat: Do they feel like it’s not their problem? Such as how a building envelope will necessarily function in the real world — that if it’s down on paper and it’s been done before, then that’s okay?

Joe Lstiburek: I can’t speak for the architectural community, although I often try to – that is I think the arrogance of the profession drives me crazy. I think they feel it’s beneath their dignity to worry about these little, minor problems, like how to keep the rain out of the building, how to keep the air in and the air out. Let somebody else worry about that. I’m here to make an uplifting building to society to basically send a message about how this building is going to make this place a better place to live, and the people that live and work in it are better people. That’s what my mission is. This other stuff somebody else will worry about.

Inhabitat: So how do you get them excited about building science again?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, I don’t. What happens is the legal profession does that for us. The most effective technology transfer in the world is a lawsuit. They never call us when things are going well. They call us, “Oh, my God! We’re getting our ass sued because this problem occurred.” 

Inhabitat: One of my favorite things you  talk about is how highrises eighty years ago were more energy efficient than just about anything built today, especially with curtain walls and glass.

Joe Lstiburek: Well, it’s real easy. It’s just glass. I mean we have glass boxes and glass and steel are inefficient. Back in the day we had glazing ratios that were 10 and 15 percent and mass walls. An R2 curtain wall can’t compare to an R8 mass wall assembly. It’s not even close.

Inhabitat: So we talk about these advanced materials, advanced glazing options we have now and, you know, they go on and on and on. They are still nothing compared to a masonry wall as far as energy efficiency?

Joe Lstiburek: They’re nothing to the old approaches, but in the last 50 years the architectural profession has managed to piss away every energy advance that the rest of us have made because of all of the glass. I mean it’s just amazing to me.

And the hypocrisy is stunning. They blame everything. We’re here to save the planet. We’re here because it’s real important for our carbon footprint. And yet they turn out one glass box after another glass box after another glass box and they’re interested in what the emission rate of the paint is, and what the embodied energy of the carpet is, and the biggest problem is their original design. That just drives me crazy. LEED ^[8] is a colossal joke for that reason. They equate a bike rack with the same efficiency as the enclosure.

Inhabitat: Everybody who wants to point LEED’s weakness uses the bike rack argument.

Joe Lstiburek: Guess what? For good reason. And you know what? They’re idiots to do that and they refuse to limit glazing ratios and they don’t measure s***.

Inhabitat: And there’s no commissioning of the envelope.

Joe Lstiburek: No. It’s crazy, and you know what? We’ve been collecting the numbers and they’re pathetic. What’s great is that, okay, now they’re going to fix it, nothing like taking a really flawed and screwed up program and having to fix it.

Well, the lawsuit that Gifford started ^[9] gave them a wake-up call. The fact that people are now publishing the results and they’re pretty poor has given a wake-up call. At the end of the day, LEED is going to get fixed because they have no choice. It’s just that we’ve wasted a decade.

Inhabitat: It wasn’t just that lawsuit. You really started harping on how weak the LEED energy and atmosphere credits were in 2008.

Joe Lstiburek: I couldn’t understand why a licensed engineer or a licensed architect would have an outside bunch with a checklist supplement their professional knowledge and experience. I mean how insulting is that? Because that tells me that you are so poor as a professional that you believe that the judgment of a third-party checklist is more significant than your knowledge.

And experience as an architect or engineer. Are you kidding me? I mean I would have thrown them out of my office. I would have said, “What? Get the hell out of here.”

You go and you do this checklist thing and you’re telling me that I have to superimpose this arbitrarian, capricious checklist on my skill as an architect, as an engineer. I mean that, to me, is flabbergasting.

Inhabitat: So is it the same effect of when architects gave up the idea of building science and said somebody else can worry about it. The LEED checklist gave the architects the opportunity for somebody else to worry about what green building really is?

Joe Lstiburek: The architects have caused their own problem and only the architects can solve their own problem and I have faith that the architectural profession will fix itself. Architects need to get in charge of the process again, totally in charge of the process, and for that they need the education and the experience to do that.

There should be no reason that we have all of these outside consultants that are sucking bits of the architectural key out of the process. The architects should grab that for themselves and deliver the whole building the right way, to be the boss of the job, to be the master builders again. I mean my daughter is an architect and I keep telling them, “Your generation has to fix this. You guys need to be in charge again.”

Inhabitat: We talked about the curtain wall or glass being a key concern of energy efficiency in buildings. What else is a major issue right now?

Joe Lstiburek: In my view, over-ventilation.

Inhabitat: Is that ASHRAE’s fault or just people are doing above and beyond?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, ASHRAE is dominated by a vested interest in politics and LEED is even worse, if you can imagine that. I mean could you imagine getting a LEED point for increasing the ventilation 30 percent above ASHRAE and ASHRAE’s is already out of control.

The answer is source control, dilution is not the solution to indoor pollution and increasing ventilation rates is a horrible problem. The right way to do it is to not have the contaminant built into the building in the first place. And despite all of the people saying that there’s a clear link between certain levels of contaminants and medical effects, the epidemiology hasn’t been done.

People claim that it’s been done, but believe it or not, we don’t have the information in houses. We don’t know what the contaminants are. They have not been measured carefully and we’re making national policy decisions on ventilation going blind, with a bunch of people just getting together and offering an opinion. And the opinion is based on which political faction has managed to stack the ASHRE committee with their dominant voting block.

That’s not the way to do this. I mean you’d think with the amount of energy that buildings consume, and the amount of energy that residential buildings consume, that maybe somebody, like the federal government, would actually fund a study. You would need $20 million or $30 million and to go around and measure a whole slew of things in houses. That’s not been done, but yet, changing the ventilation rate by 15 or 20 percent is going to have more than that impact cost-wise on energy within the first year.

This kind of stuff drives me crazy. They manage to piss away money on stupid s*** and they can’t seem to fund something that’s important.

And the same thing in commercial buildings. You know, people are claiming that this level of formaldehyde ^[10] is dangerous and this level isn’t. What’s all of this based on? I mean most of the limits and for indoor air in buildings we’re simply taking occupational numbers and dividing by ten. Why not dividing by 12? Why not dividing by 15? In California, because California is crazy on every conceivable level, they divide by 100 ^[11]. So, in one state the occupational number because the indoor number by dividing by ten and California divided by 100. If people knew how arbitrary and capricious this was they’d go, “Well, you’re kidding me.”

Inhabitat: Is California basing their numbers on European models?

Joe Lstiburek: No. It wasn’t based on any models. What’s amazing is formaldehyde in houses doesn’t respond to ventilation rate changes. So if you’re ventilating at 0.1 versus 0.2 versus 0.3, the formaldehyde concentration remains constant. The reason is the more you ventilate the more it emits. You ventilate less it emits less. Don’t put it in the building, that’s a phenomenally successful way of dealing with the problem.

I’ll give you another example, which will never happen, but late at night I dream about it — have you’ve heard of the MSDS sheets?

Inhabitat: Sure.

Joe Lstiburek: They tell you absolutely nothing. What people think that the MSDS sheets tells us is what the manufacturer puts in their product. The answer is no. That would be useful if they told us everything that went into this product and the quantities, but that’s viewed as a trade secret.

What the MSDS sheet tells us is that if you put this into the product, you have to tell us that it’s in the product and this comes from a very short list of “this’es”. In other words, in order to get on that short list it takes a lot of effort. It really has to be miserable and beyond a shadow of a doubt, bad. So there’s a very short list of what you have to notify.

What that means is that people are idiots to take anything from that list, to put it in there. So they use a whole bunch of other things that nobody knows anything about or haven’t made it to the list, but they don’t have to tell you about it.  I always laugh –LEED and other people want you get to the MSDS sheet – and I’m saying “Why?”  What you need to do is you need to take one of the guys who makes this stuff out to dinner, get him drunk, and ask him: “What’s in there?”

Inhabitat: Another study funding opportunity for the U.S. government?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, not funding – basically, change the law. Make them tell us what’s in their products.

Inhabitat: So that regulation would make complete sense?

Joe Lstiburek: Phenomenal sense. Tell us what’s in it.

Inhabitat: Let’s get back to energy a little bit. Is thermal bridging the next cusp of people’s thinking about how building envelopes work?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, it’s no mystery to anybody who knows about buildings that it’s a big deal. I’m kind of amused that people are just figuring out well, glass is really bad and there’s too much it. Not having insulation continuously is a big deal.

What’s even more important is that air tightness is even more important. There’s no requirement for air tightness. How can you with a straight face talk about energy efficiency and not have a requirement for air tightness?

Inhabitat: How would you test for air tightness in a large building?

Joe Lstiburek: It’s easy. Every building has a mechanical system. You just simply open all of the interior doors and turn on the exhaust fan and measure the pressure difference, then close the exhaust fan and turn on the supply fan and measure the pressure difference. You got your entire building leakage.

You don’t even need to do it that way. Just simply take a compartment and measure the pressure in the compartment. You don’t have to measure the whole building, just measure pieces of the building. There are a lot of ways to do this.

I wrote about it in Understanding Air Barriers ^[12] on our web site and actually did my doctoral dissertation on how some of this can be done. It’s just that it takes about a half a day to set up the test and about 15 minutes to run the test. For people that claim that this is complicated and hard, it’s just not hard.

The problem is that because it is easy to do, and if you actually do it and you create a performance requirement, people will have to meet that requirement. That means they’re going to have to change what they do and that’s what the problem is; people don’t want to change what they do.

Inhabitat: You have been successful in taking complex building dynamics and making them relatively simple to understand. Do you think that building science is less complicated than a lot of folks out there are making it sound with a lot of hemming and hawing?

Joe Lstiburek: It’s a lot less complicated than people say and my only observation is there’s a lot of money to be made in keeping the peasants confused. I mean it’s so easy. What drives me crazy is WUFI models and computer simulations. None of that is necessary, and most of it is done wrong anyway.

I spend most of my time, and my firm spends a lot of time debunking other people’s reports, saying, “You can’t possibly be saying this based on what you did. The problem is the wall is leaking because you don’t have a flashing. Your hygrothermal model has nothing to do with why this wall is wet.”

Inhabitat: They couldn’t see the trees for the forest.

Joe Lstiburek: They couldn’t see the water through the trees.

Inhabitat: There you go. It sounds like, especially when we start talking about air barriers, you just do that right than you solve a lot of the other problems. You made a good living on buildings having lots of moisture issues.

Joe Lstiburek: It’s been a hell of a good life. I get to spend the entire winter in Aspen. Are you kidding me? The key to spending your entire winter in Aspen is to find a woman to love and marry, stay married to her, and get into fixing buildings. You need both.

Inhabitat: Good advice for the upcoming engineers who read this. So what’s the take away? Is it that air barriers are the biggest thing we need to focus on?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, no. Look, if I was in charge of teaching architects building science becomes very simple ^[13]. Building enclosure is an environmental separator. You want to keep the outside out and the inside in, except when you want to bring the outside in and when you want to have the inside out. That’s it and there are certain rules on how to do that.

I have this little list of rules and it all can be distilled into we need a water controlled barrier, an air controlled barrier, a vapor controlled barrier, and a thermal controlled barrier. Then we need a method of exchanging the inside with the outside based on when we want to. That’s it, there are sub-rules on how you do this, but that’s fundamentally it.

And I would have loved to written my own LEED standard. It would have been a paragraph long and it would start off by saying, “Don’t do stupid things,” and, “Do this,” and we’re done. “And measure everything,” because if you can’t measure it, I don’t believe it.

Inhabitat: Are we looking at a climate specific design?

Joe Lstiburek: Oh, I don’t believe that. The wall-roof foundation assembly that I laid out works everywhere.

If you are doing poor assemblies you have to be very careful climatically, but a good assembly works everywhere. The irony is that the crappy assemblies are very climatically sensitive. The good assemblies are climatically robust.

Inhabitat: So, does that mean state-of-the art is that we can find wall systems that can be translated to work in almost any situation.

Joe Lstiburek: I have a little bit of fun with this. I teach at the university now and I no longer fail stupid students because that would be discriminating against stupid students. I say, “Look, I have to pass you. You’re an idiot. I can’t fail you, but I’ll make a deal. Promise me this – that regardless of where you end up and how long you practice, you’re only going to use this wall design, and this roof design, and this foundation design, because they work everywhere.”

Inhabitat: And forever.

Joe Lstiburek: And forever. Quite frankly, that is true.

Inhabitat: So you feel confident that building science is at the point now that we can build a quality envelope that we’ll feel comfortable with 40 years from now. We go back, we tear that thing up, we’ll feel that everything’s done what it needs to?

Joe Lstiburek: Oh, we were able to do that 50, 60 years ago. The answer is yes, we’re able to do that now and we were able to do that before I was born. The irony is that even though that information has been known for so long, it’s not been used. And my observation on that is that people don’t use stuff until it becomes impossible for them to not use it. In other words, things become intolerably bad before there’s a change or an intervention. It’s only recently that things are becoming intolerably bad enough that we have to intervene and fix, even though we knew or some folks knew how to avoid the problems 50 or 60 years ago.

None of this is very complicated, none of this is a big mystery. What’s happening now is that we need to get this information into the people who need to make the decisions in an informed matter. In other words, people aren’t inherently bad. They just don’t have the information they need at the right time to make the right decision. So this is an information issue as opposed to a research issue. We don’t need to do anymore research. We need to do better transfer of what we know to the people who need to make the decisions at the right time.

Inhabitat: So where is that information now? What are the sources for working professionals to tap into this in a meaningful way?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, NIBS, National Institute for Building Science ^[14] has got a group called BETEC ^[15] and they’ve got some phenomenal design stuff online. I mean I hate to brag, but our website BuildingScience.com ^[16] is pretty darn good. And it’s for free –actually not, you’ve already paid for it. A lot of that work came out of government contracts that we were paid to do.

The National Research Council of Canada ^[17] and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ^[18] have fabulous information online. The Department of Energy ^[19], USDoE, has got phenomenally good information online. And by and large, it’s fairly consistent. There aren’t big differences and wherever there is a big difference, just agree with me.

Inhabitat: Very good.

Joe Lstiburek: That was a bit of humor there, but you’re not laughing.

Inhabitat: I’ll write, “Ha-ha,” in there.

Joe Lstiburek: The big questions have been answered consistently well by all of these groups and there are issues in the margins, but they’re not big issues.

Inhabitat: When you go on the DoE web site there’s like 400 links or something like that to the energy software available, energy modeling software, for instance. Now, is any of this stuff really –

Joe Lstiburek: Useful? No. No. No.

Inhabitat: Everybody is wishing to have that magic bullet software?

Joe Lstiburek: Well, I view it as in love with Star Trek. I blame it all on Star Trek. Spock could go into that shuttle bay with his tricorder, do a tricorder scan and figure out that the tachyon field was interfering with the dilythiam crystals, causing him to off-gas, which is why Uhura has a headache. F**k that. We can’t measure s**t like that, but we believe that we can measure everything.

Watch NCIS and Abby Sciuto, that babe in the lab – you know, freaking does magical things and measures s**t and she does it all in 45 minutes, not counting commercials. It’s that we couldn’t do in 20 years even if we had unlimited money and people think that you can simulate and measure stuff. The world is not that clean and neat.

The best way we learn all of this is to build it and you see what happened. You say, “Ah, this worked. This didn’t,” and that’s the best education or information. That information lies in the experience base of the older engineers, architects and contractors.

One of the biggest problems we have is what I call our own institutional memory. We do a lousy job in construction, engineering and architecture, passing on the lessons of one generation to the next. So we are this huge, dysfunctional family. We need a Dr. Phil to get us all to talk to one another, or an Oprah, or somebody.

Inhabitat: It’s amazing how many times you refer to the fact that you would hypothesize something, come up with it and find it – it was in the books in the ‘50s and the ‘40s and the ‘60s.

Joe Lstiburek: It’s funny. I am one of the most frustrated, egotistical engineers on the planet. I thought I was a clever, smart guy who figured out stuff and it turns out that nothing I’ve ever thought I figured out did I actually figure out. It had been already done – better, earlier, more elegantly by not just one person, by lots of people. And we’re having all of these same discussions and arguments over and over and over again.

You know what? I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog’s Day, except I don’t have an Andie MacDowell.

Locate Sustainable Building Materials at WorldClassSupply

Lower My Electric Bills!

Replacing leaky, noisy windows with super-efficient Intus windows can dramatically reduce your electric bills, reduce exterior noise, unwanted solar heat gain and more.

Meanwhile, EarthDayCentral.com shares some additional ways to lower your electric bills, that will only take you seconds to do every day.

Unplug Unused Appliances

One surprising way you can cut your electric bills is to unplug any unused appliances. Believe it or not even when appliances are turned off, if they are still plugged in they still use electricity. Cell phone chargers are another way to unknowingly drain electricity. Next time remember to unplug things such as your hair straightener, game consoles, coffee pot, and printer when you are not using them. By taking the time to do these steps you will save up to $80 dollars a month on your electricity costs.

Lower Cooling Costs

Be sure to close your blinds on the sunny side of your home during the day. This will prevent the sun from heating up your room and forcing your air conditioner from running more than it needs to. By reducing the amount your air conditioner runs, you reduce your total electricity bills. You further reduce your electric bills by turning your air up a few degrees so that your air conditioner is not running constantly. You can also install and run ceiling fans to help air circulate and lower your cooling costs. A final tip to lower cooling costs is to turn the thermostat up during the evening and placing a fan in the rooms that will be slept in. This will prevent you from cooking the rooms that you are not using. Lowering your cooling costs will save you 10% each year.

Change from Incandescent to Fluorescent

Although this will cost you more in the beginning, changing from incandescent lighting to fluorescent lighting will save you money in the long run. Fluorescent lights last 10 times longer than incandescent lights. You ultimately save by reducing the number of bulbs you buy. This change could also save you as much as $30 dollars in energy costs.

Turn off Those Lights

Although it seems like an idea too simple to mention, it is surpring how many people keep unecessary lighs on around the house durung the day. It really is a simople task to switch off a light when you don’t need it. And while you are at it, unplus the TV or other electrical appliance when not in use. There is no point in keeping a light turned on that you are not using. By turning off unused lights you will save about $35 dollars a year in energy costs.

Maintain Your Refrigerator

You may have noticed that over time your refrigerator does not cool as efficiently as it once did. Instead of turning it up or running out and buying a new refrigerator, you should clean off the coils in the back and clean under the unit. This will clean up the dirt, dust, and pet hair that has collected behind and underneath your refrigerator. This can save you 30% on your cooling costs.

Use Natural Light

Use natural light during the day instead of electric lights. Open the blinds and shutters and allow some direct sunlight into your home or office. In a bedroom, you can increase the use of natural light buy placing a large mirror in a strategic location to spread the light. This is an obvious money saver because it lowers the amount of money you use lighting your home.

Use Timers

If you have a hard time remembering to turn things off you might want to consider putting timers around your home. This will help lower costs all around and you won’t have to worry about remembering to turn things off.

Intus Windows at World Class Supply

Want to know more about window types?

According to Energy.Gov windows come in a number of different frame and glazing types. By combining an energy-efficient frame choice with a glazing type tailored to your climate and application, you can customize each of your home’s windows.

TYPES OF WINDOW FRAMES

Improving the thermal resistance of the frame can contribute to a window's overall energy efficiency, particularly its U-factor. There are advantages and disadvantages to all types of frame materials, but vinyl, wood, fiberglass, and some composite frame materials provide greater thermal resistance than metal.

More on window types and uses.....

World Class Supply carries super-energy efficient doors and windows!

Intus Window Install in a Passive House

Here is a great video on an Intus Eforte fixed installation in a Passive House in Arlington, Virginia.

Intus Eforte installation in a Passive House

Find out more about Intus Windows, Doors and Curtain Walls at WorldClassSupply.com

World Class also carries sustainable building products such Coatings, Flooring, Re-Purposed Wood, Special Composite Countertops, Renewable Wood Replacement Materials and Unique Thermally Modified Wood that are highly renewable and low/no toxin content.

Why are U-PVC Windows & Doors better than PVC?

PVC vs U-PVC

Typically, vinyl windows are made out of a compound known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. In general, PVC can be difficult to push through the dies, in order to make the extrusion. To aid the PVC through the dies, plasticizers are added to make the compound more pliable. While plasticizers aid in the production of the extrusion, they can have some adverse side effects as well. Plasticizers can make the vinyl itself very dense and brittle, thus making the final product susceptible to cracking and the effects of ultra-violet light. This is not exactly the type of product most people would want in their home.

However, there is an alternative: Unplasticized-polyvinyl chloride, or U-PVC. With this compound, no plasticizers are added. Instead, other additives are mixed with the compound to provide protection from weathering, impact strength, and aid in the processing of the material. The final product is stronger, longer lasting, and will fight the effects of Ultra-Violet light.

The "Intus Eforte" Passive House U-PVC window and door systems offer great performance, quality and price.   

Learn more at www.WorldClassSupply.com

"Intus Eforte" Passive House U-PVC windows system – performance, quality, price

The "Intus Eforte" Passive House U-PVC windows system offers great performance, quality and price.  Overall benefits include:

1. Excellent weather resistance. Inoutic Profiles consist of Stabilizer, Titanium Dioxide, ect. in order to withstand various kinds of weather condition and UV rays. It is able to withstand high temperatures of up to 82 ºc without deflection.

2. Excellent heat insulation and energy savings. Inoutic Profile Systems can cut down energy loss far better than aluminum windows.

3. Excellent water resistance. Inoutic Door and Window Systems employ a corner welding process to ensure passive house window or door corner is completely welded into a single structure; therefore, water is unable to pass through the welded joint. Additionally, a triple seals of EPDM to efficiently seal the gap.

4. Excellent sound proofing. Inoutic profile Systems have multiple chambers inside the profile structure while the hardware system us equipped with multipoint locking system to ensure proper closing and tightness. This efficiently reduces noise disturbance, down.

5. Corrosion resistant. Inoutic Door and Window Systems can withstand corrosion caused by high pollution like in big cities or marine environments.

6. Excellent fire proofing. Inoutic Profile Systems are self extinguishing. Polymer, the material that is noncombustible, due to its high chlorine concentration and the use of appropriate compounds. Inoutic Profile Systems are manufactured under DIN 16 830 standard.

7. Recyclable. Inoutic Profiles are recyclable and made from ecologically friendly materials and environmentally safe in terms of less pollutant emission than wood and aluminum.

The special feature of Intus Door System is reinforced and well supported by galvanized steel. It is also equipped with multipoint locking hardware systems to ensure efficiency and safety, and resistance to robbery and burglary.

Further, compare the "Eforte" Passive House windows advantage of the Tilt/Turn window over a standard double hung window:

Intus Tilt/Turn

World known German engineering.

Triple seals efficiently functioning to keep moisture out and air where it belongs

Triple glazing for super performance, comfort, increased security and noise reduction.

Solid Hardware for smooth operation of both tilt and turn.

In swing for easy care and cleaning.

U-PVC material

               VS:

Typical Double Hung Window:

Draft between sashes.

Poor or non-existent seals.

Tendency of balances to

malfunction.

Sticking sash.

Awkward lifts.

Easily defeated locks.

Overall inefficient design.

Benefits of U-PVC over PVC:

Typically, vinyl windows are made out of a compound known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. In general, PVC can be difficult to push through the dies, in order to make the extrusion. To aid the PVC through the dies, plasticizers are added to make the compound more pliable. While plasticizers aid in the production of the extrusion, they can have some adverse side effects as well. Plasticizers can make the vinyl itself very dense and brittle, thus making the final product susceptible to cracking and the effects of ultra-violet light. This is not exactly the type of product most people would want in their home.

Unplasticized-polyvinyl chloride, or U-PVC contains no plasticizers are added to the material. Instead, other additives are mixed with the compound to provide protection from weathering, impact strength, and aid in the processing of the material. The final product is stronger, longer lasting, and deters the effects of Ultra-Violet light.

Please contact WorldClassSupply.com for more details and purchase information.

Why High Energy Efficiency Windows & Doors?

If you are interested in saving energy consider installing high-performance units. Nearly 15-20% of all home energy is lost via windows and doors.  Having energy efficient windows in your home should be a priority.

An informed decision concerning one of the most critical areas of energy loss (or conservation) in your home is paramount.  Here are some useful terms to understand….

INSULATED GLASS: (IG)

Two or more individual panes of glass separated by a specified spacer bar system and then sealed to be air and water tight. The "captured" airspace between the panes of glass forms the insulating barrier. The majority of modern energy efficient window systems utilize some type of insulated glass (IG) application.

EMISSIVITY:

Emissivity is the capability of a surface to emit heat radiation. A black surface is often used as a constant in measuring other surfaces against it.

For example, in measuring the emissivity of a particular IG unit, the IG unit is placed next to a solid black surface and subjected to an identical heat source. Measurements of heat radiated from each surface are then taken. The lower the number results in better heat-reflecting capability.

With relation to energy efficient window systems, lower emissivities are desired.

R-VALUE:

The R-value represents the resistance a material has to heat flow. R-Value measures the insulation properties of a material. The higher the R-value, the greater the resistance. Insulated glass provides a pocket of air to enhance its R-Value.

U-VALUE:

The U-Value is an insulation rating for transparent objects like glass. The term U-value is measured by the amount of heat that escapes a surface, like a wall, ceiling, or in our case, a window. The lower the U-Value, the better the insulation.

The energy efficiency of windows is measured by U-values. Windows, made of glass, are not insulators so they can't be measured in “R-Values.” But since windows obviously have insulating properties, there needs to be a measurement that allows comparison of the types, style and materials of windows.

There is a direct reciprocal relationship between R-values and U-values. To find a U-value, we divide the number ‘1’ by the R-value.

So in other words - the higher the R-value, the better the surfaces are insulated. The lower the U-value, the better a window does it's job of keeping out heat and cold.

SOLAR HEAT GAIN COEFFICIENT: (SHGC)

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) is a measure of a window's ability to reduce heat gain during direct radiation exposure; such as during the summer months in warmer climates. A lower SHGC translates into less direct heat being pulled into the home resulting in lower cooling costs. SHGC and U-value are closely linked since the lowering of one directly affects the other.

LOW EMISSIVITY: (LO-E)

Lo-E refers to the ability of an IG unit to suppress direct heat radiation and absorb indirect heat radiation. By placing a Lo-E coating, which usually consists of a microscopically thin layer of metallic oxides (primarily silver), on a glass surface, the ability to transfer heat radiation is lowered. The heat remains on the side of glass where it originated.

In a nutshell, Lo-E coatings reflect direct heat radiation and absorb indirect heat radiation.

HOW DOES LO-E WORK?

Lo-E glass works based on the angle of direct solar radiation.

Due to the sun's differing angles at various times of the year, Lo-E coatings work well in all seasons. In summer, when the angle is more direct, or "a high sky" they reflect heat. In winter, when the sun's angle is less direct, "a lower sky" they absorb the indirect heat.

GLASS SURFACES:

All energy efficient windows with insulated glass are broken down into 4 surfaces:

Surface 1 (S1): The exterior surface of the exterior pane of glass.

Surface 2 (S2): The interior surface of the exterior pane of glass.

Surface 3 (S3): The exterior surface of the interior pane of glass.

Surface 4 (S4): The interior surface of the interior pane of glass.

These designations are important because the optimum effectiveness of the Lo-E coating is determined by which surface it is applied to.

With Lo-E applications, the heat radiation remains on the side of glass where it originated.

For warmer climates, Lo-E coatings are sometimes applied on S3 and a secondary tint applied to S2 to reduce the initial heat radiation.

Such applications don't work as well in cooler climates since you want some of the initial heat to absorb in order to remain trapped once it tries to leave.  Therefore, the ideal surface for a Lo-E coating in cooler climates is S2.  

Where do I get Super Efficient Windows?

Finally! Super-Efficient Windows Are Here

World Class Supply announces our latest sustainable offering!

Intus Windows provides a wide range of super energy efficient, Passive House Institute Certified windows, doors and curtain walls. German engineered high-tech Intus Windows products are being used in most demanding residential, commercial and industrial applications.  This includes  even diverse climates where the highest standard for thermal insulation, air tightness, and structural strength are required.

Intus Windows offers numerous glazing options with different SHGC and Ug values based on specific project requirements and building orientation.  Passive House windows and doors are available for affordable as well as high-end projects.  The most economical Passive House suitable window starts at $ 35 per SF.  High–end, custom products are available for one of a kind homes and unique projects.

Intus distribution is currently in 36 US states.  Over the past 19 years, over 650,000 windows and doors have been manufactured and installed all over the world. Intus Windows has an exceptional track record for performing in extreme climates ranging from Sweden to Saudi Arabia.

Please contact World Class Supply for more details about this exciting product offering.

CMT Flexible Routers make the grade!

Made in Germany, the flexible template is environmentally friendly in that it is a unique plastic made without any plasticizers. 

The CMT flexible template is easy to screw on any kind of wooden panels, MDF or chipboard for creating forms, arcs and curved elements easily and rapidly. In order to fix your template you can use countersunk screws, which are widely available on the market. The CMT template is made of a highly-resistant flexible plastic, which can be tied in knots without any risk of ruining or reducing flexibility.

The template is a snap to use. Screw your template to the edge of the panel and follow its shape and rout the border on the guide ring. The template is suitable for manual feed on routers, router tables and spindle moulders. Route easily, safely and accurately to make multiple forms such as arcs, curved elements and cut-out forms. Mark the edge of your form precisely and screw it onto a previously-placed panel from underneath.

If you rout with a guide ring mounted onto your spindle moulder, keep your hands a safe distance behind the template. Two different profiles in three lengths are available. Please notice that the smallest profile features a short radius, whereas the larger profile features a larger opening in case of flat and long curves.

CMT templates are highly durable and can last over 10 years.

Purchase at World Class Supply

worldclasssupply.com

Windows fit for a Passive House!

Intus Premmier Passive

Performance: super high energy efficient and high performance windows. Sustainability: the only way we can survive on this planet is by energy conservation and using renewable energy. Our super high performance products will help us to conserve significant amount of energy that is being wasted every single day. Comfort: our products makes every building more comfortable to live in and will help building occupants to achieve those comfort levels. Style: our state of the art products will enhance style and curb appeal of any home, school or high rise building. Highest Quality: every product starts with wood. We inspect every piece of timber that comes to our facilities. Range of species include: pine, oak, larch, eucalyptus, mahogany and others. We make sure that every part of our window is of an exceptional quality. Our windows implement only highest standard and quality components whether it would be a smallest screw or a superb quality timber. Intus Windows and the Empowerhouse Project: Intus Passive House Windows has joined the Empowerhouse fellowship which is headed up by Parsons The New School of Design, Stevens Institute of Technology  and Milano The New School of management and urban policy. The Empowerment mission is to design and build a cutting edge low income zero-net Habitat for Humanity duplex. This two unit duplex will incorporate, a Passive House. standards which in part calls for extremely energy efficient windows and doors. One of the two units of the duplex will be entered into the 2011 fall Solar Decathlon held on the Nations Mall in Washington DC. Intus windows were chosen by the Empowerhouse team because they met the extreme standards dictated by the Solar Decathlon contest as well as affordability section of the contest. Intus Passive House Windows is very much involved in United States energy efficiency and sustainable living movement. We are big supporters of Passive House, the highest energy efficiency standard in buildings

Wood windows for wide range of climates Our passive house wood windows perform extremely well in wide range of climate zones. Same as bark protects our trees, wood impregnation and special outside layers protects our wood windows. Outside coat of our products consist of certain particles and polymer material which is used in the field of space research and aviation industry. Top layer particles penetrate to the smallest cracks of the wood and solidly attaches. Lastly, we use special paint that drasticly reduces bubbles and micro foam formations. All these steps and materials allow our windows to have a superb protection against humidity, UV rays, fungus, mold, rots and rodents. Our windows are extremely green. Our timber is grown in sustainable forests. We eliminated use of formaldehydes, lead carbonates and other cancer causing chemicals. Protected exterior of our windows finish may include aluminum cladding, glass, bronze or even gold. Highly qualified specialists are able to attach aluminum clad right on the wooden part making window profiles more protected and more beautiful. This procedure requires deep knowledge of craftsmanship and precision. Our glazing units offer best in class sound isolation and allows comfortable living even next to the busiest freeways. Use of superb glazing with wide variation of Low E coatings allows us to substantially reduce not only heat loss in cold climates but also reduce the use of air conditioners in warmer climates. Performance. Comfort. Style. Sustainability. Quality. We use warm edge spacers in all glass units. Cutting edge technology molecular structure of the spacers reduces heat loss by 7-10% compare to conventional aluminum spacers and reduces condensation on the edge of the glass. To enhance security features of our windows we took it one step forward - we brought not only tempered but also bullet and blast proof glass to the market. German hardware: extremely rigid and of superb quality allows smooth operation while opening and tilting the unit. The newest polymer technology (used in the fields of space research and aviation) and special ecological paint ensure proper protection and durability. Finally, additional drainage and ventilation channels, protect the window from fog and frost formation. Further information can be obtained via WorldClassSupply.com

When Zero doesn't really mean Zero

The EPA has determined that the off-gassing from architectural coatings is estimated to account for about 9% of the VOC emissions from all consumer and commercial products. It is important to understand that the EPA’s test method for VOC’s, any paint with VOC’s  5 g/l or less can be called zero VOC so even paint labeled zero VOC may not actually be truly zero VOC.

 Now I know that 5 g/l is very low in the big picture and I may be nitpicking but I was always taught that 0=0,  not 0=5 or less