One More Way To Make your Windows Efficient

Similar to the way you change your wardrobe each season, you can also change your windows…or, at least, you can pivot them.

As we discussed in our article ‘What’s Next in Windows?’ the low-E coating on windows allows sun to heat our homes in the winter and block heat from the sun in the summer. This, of course, requires different amounts of low-E coating.

Change of Season

In the summer, we want to block the sun out so that we don’t have to rely on the air conditioner to make our homes comfortable. This means that we want a window with a low-E coating which will reflect the sun away from our home. In the winter, however, the sun is a free source of heat so windows that allow for high solar heat gain are best.

Finding the most efficient windows has long been about accommodating all weather conditions. Transition metal switchable windows have addressed this issue as discussed in the article ‘What’s Next in Windows?,’ but what else is out there?

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As our appliances get bigger and more powerful, the electrical grid remains the same. And since replacing the grid is more than a weekend project, it is time to look at some other solutions.

Sensing Overload

Scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington have found that giving the grid a breather when it starts to go into overload may decrease the chances of grid failure. Specifically, they tested appliances with computer chips that are able to sense a grid overload. The appliance will then adjust so as to reduce the risk of grid failure.

So, your dryer’s heating element might shut down, but the clothes keep tumbling or your refrigerator’s compressor may temporarily switch off, but the light will still turn on when you open the door. These minimal precautions can give the grid a much needed break and help avoid a complete failure.

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Ever wonder where the biggest chunk of your utility bill comes from? It actually comes from your appliances, namely your refrigerator. It is the chief energy guzzling appliance in your home, consuming a whopping 13.7% of house-hold energy, over 1000 Kilowatts of electricity a year, and nearly five times the electricity of a color TV., according to the U.S. Department of Energy . Luckily, newer Energy Star certified models will save you a bundle on utility costs.

Big Consumer

Refrigerators, surprisingly, are a big chunk of our utility bills. They consume almost as much as a color TV, clothes dryer, and freezer combined! We often shut off the lights and turn down the heat to save energy, meanwhile, huge amounts of energy are escaping from the refrigerator door as we scour for a midnight snack.

But we are not the only ones to blame, our out-of-date refrigerators are just as guilty. In fact, according to Energy Star, refrigerators from before 1990 use enough extra energy in a year (over a current Energy Star models) to light a house for four months! Efficiency has been improved with better insulation, more precise temperature and defrost gauges, and more efficient compressors. And improvements have been continuous—models today realize nearly 40% savings in energy use over refrigerators in 2001.
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Windows are important to the efficiency of our homes and often account for a significant portion of our heating and cooling bills. New technologies are beginning to address common issues, such as solar heat gain and insulation, so that we can expect more from our windows in the future.

What is a SHGC?

Windows allow sunlight into our homes. Sunlight is composed of short and long wavelengths. The short wavelengths represent the visible light that makes our homes bright and sunny. The long wavelengths produce the heat we feel from that sunlight. This heat is also known as solar radiation.

The amount of solar radiation transmitted through a window is represented by the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC), a number between 0 and 1. A window with a high SHGC allows a lot of solar radiation into your home. The heat provided can be welcome in colder climates, but provides unnecessary heat in warmer climates. A window with a low SHGC blocks solar radiation, which reduces the need for air-conditioning in summer but is not ideal for cold climates.

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LEED has made quite an impact in the green building world and more buildings are beginning to receive recognition for their designs. But how does LEED determine which buildings get to don the highly recognized plaque? They use a consensus-based point system that determines a building’s level of sustainability and ranks it accordingly.

LEED’s ranking system may not be an exact measure of sustainability, but it provides the structure necessary to evaluate the construction and operation of a building and its environmental impacts. The ranking system is built from six categories that are used to evaluate a design. Each category has a maximum amount of points that can be earned. Below is a description of these categories:
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Last week I took a tour of NEXUS, Boston’s Green Building Resource Center. An very knowledgeable employee of NEXUS, Shoshana Friedman, showed me around their new space on 38 Chauncy Street in Boston.

NEXUS is more or less the epicenter of green building resources for Boston, MA. It has a product showroom, a material and resource library, space for events, and provide a place for people studying for LEED certification. You can also take a tour of the building from their friendly staff!

I was curious if other similar green building centers exist. They’re a little hard to find—a quick search I did turned up one in Atlanta and one in Santa Monica (which is actually co-sponsored by Global Green USA). Let us know if your searches turn up other green building centers in different parts of the country.

In addition to serving as an educational resource to the building community, NEXUS is a working example of green products in use. They are currently in the process of being LEED certified under the Commercial Interior (CI) bracket. Here are a few “green” features that I found interesting:

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Part of building a home with renewable energy systems, such as solar panels, is deciding whether or not it should be connected to the electrical grid. There are numerous considerations — namely practical, economic, and environmental –involved in making your decision.

However, this choice can be difficult without a good understanding of what the terms grid-tied and off-grid actually mean. A grid-tied home is connected to power lines which transmit electricity to the home, mainly from power plants, yet can also produce power on-site using renewable energy systems. An off-grid home is not connected to power lines and, therefore, it relies solely on renewable energy systems to produce electricity and storage systems such as batteries to mediate the supply.

As we examine the practical implementation, cost, and environmental impact of each, we’ll see how being connected to the electrical grid is typically more beneficial than being completely detached from the predictable source of electricity and storage it provides.

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Imagine going outside in the dead of winter without a warm coat—what happens?

Your body loses a lot of heat and has to work really hard to keep you from freezing. Wearing your coat makes it so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to churn out the BTUs.

Insulation offers similar benefits by keeping valuable air from escaping from your home. But what makes one insulation different from another?

Understanding the properties of insulation, such as R-Value, installation method and its part in controlling air-infiltration, can help you make more informed decisions when choosing insulation.

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New products such as, bamboo flooring or structural insulated panels are making it possible to build healthier, greener homes.

Impact resistant windows are just one of the advances that can make a significant difference in protecting our homes.

Leaving your home vulnerable to hurricane force winds and other damaging conditions can affect the health and life span of your home.

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Architect, Sarah Susanka, has helped reduced the popularity of McMansions by introducing a quainter lifestyle, beginning with our homes.

Her book, ‘The Not So Big House,’ embraces the idea that less is more and that luxury does not have to mean excess. So what does this have to do with green and energy efficient homes? How can a smaller home work for you?

A small, modest home means less heat, less air-conditioning, and less lighting. A home with fewer square feet is more efficient because a smaller amount of energy is needed to run the A/C, provide hot water, and perform other energy consuming activities.

So what can we do to make the most of the space we have?

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