THX is the most well-known company name when it comes to sound. Everyone recognizes that silver logo that fades onto the screen accompanying that long deep note. When it comes to building a home theater, there is no one better. They have gone through all the audio and video products out there and certified a select few to bring you those of the best quality. One thing many people don’t know about them, however, is that as of a couple years ago they started certifying something else – walls.

THX decided that it was “a natural extension of their program” to not only provide people with the best quality sound, but also to give them a quality room to keep that sound in. So, like with audio and video, they went through different soundproofing products, and we are honored that they chose QuietRock as their certified drywall. QuietRock is the soundproofing material of choice for the stringent noise damping requirements of Universal Studios - as well as healthcare, education, and government buildings, and many others.

When asked about why THX chose QuietRock, Andrew Poulain (THX Director of Sales) said:

To learn more about this great partnership or to learn more about building a home theater of your own, go here.

Doug Boleyn is an energy expert. In 1974, he and his wife built a solar heated home. Today, Doug manages commercial solar programs for Energy Trust of Oregon, sits on the Board of Directors of Solar Oregon, and has applied his energy conservation expertise to countless projects. Doug leads through practice, demonstrating Net Zero design in his current Pacific Northwest home. We met Doug and the partners on his Net Zero home project, energy efficiency builders Cellar Ridge Custom Homes and architect Mathhew O. Daby a couple months ago during Solar Oregon’s Goal Net Zero 2010 event.

A key strategy Doug implemented is the practice of “directionally tuning” high performance glass to manage the sun to his home’s energy-saving advantage - allowing for greater overall efficiency, cost-savings, and indoor comfort. Critical to the art of tuning is understanding your climate and orientation of your home relative to the sun. In Doug’s case, the Pacific Northwest is a mild climate - one of few extremes.Window performance is critical to capture as much solar energy, “free heat”, as possible, for best energy-saving winter performance, extensive views and daylighting, and air ventilation and cooling during warmer days. Doug explains the concept in this short video:

Understand Doug’s energy-saving strategies in this paper (PDF download) about his “Morning Sun: A ‘Net Zero’ Energy Home” - an absolute must read case study that combines energy conservation with maximum ‘harvesting’ of energy. An excerpt of the paper introduces his “tuned” approach:

43 percent of the window area faces south, providing unobstructed direct sunlight in winter, yet with carefully designed overhangs to prevent summer overheating. Serious Materials-brand windows were selected because they provided very low U-values coupled with variable Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGC) that were suitable for the different facades on the house.

See pictures of Doug’s house here.

Thomas McGrath is very serious about reducing energy usage of the 1890’s building he owns in Chicago. With partners Ted Roszkowski of ACT Construction and architect Gerhard Zenserling, this “gut retrofit”,  resuses as much existing materials as possible and focuses on replacing energy inefficient materials where needed - like the windows. The net result aims to be USGBC Leed Platinum, Chicago 3 star rated, and Energy Net Positive (meaning, excess energy will power the building, going beyond just being energy “net zero”).

Thomas is documenting the entire project on his blog. His latest update emphasizes the use of high R-value fiberglass windows - a key contributor to one of the core elements of his energy saving retrofit, “super-insulating”. Thomas explains…

…an average window might have an R value of 1.  A really well-made double pane window from a company such as Marvin or Pella might achieve an R value of 3.  The Serious Materials Windows achieve an R value of 9.  The higher the R-value-the higher the resistance, the higher the resistance the higher insulation, the higher the insulation- the slower heat moves through the material, and the slower heat moves through- the lower the energy required to heat or cool the inside space.

From his great pictures, you can tell that the building incorporate more window area in the design than what one may usually see (higher window-to-wall ratio). With his SeriousWindows, Thomas is able to accomplish super-insulation, reduce heat loss, and manage solar heat gain to his advantage - all contributing to the overall building energy saving performance and indoor comfort (of the future lucky owners!).

There are many things that make this project extraordinary, amongst them, Thomas’ first step of the project - transforming the garage into the power-house for the retrofit work currently underway.  The photovoltaic (PV) array, the garage provides power to the workers - for lighting the construction project, powering up tools, heating the space, etc. All the energy required to reconstruct the building is being generated onsite. That’s a very serious approach to how to rebuild.

For those of you attending GreenBuild in November, in the great city of Chicago, don’t miss your opportunity to experience this inspiring retrofit for yourself - the project will be part of the GreenBuild Tour Program. We look forward to seeing you there, and Thomas and Team, congratulations!

Liane Curtis recently finished installing high R-value fiberglass windows into her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. The install was part of a Deep Energy Retrofit project Liane is currently undertaking. This project, incorporating SeriousWindows and other energy saving measures, will decrease her home’s energy usage to less than half of what it used to be! She has put together a great blog detailing every step of the retrofit, including the install of and reaction to her new windows. Check out her blog here to learn more about her project.

Thank you for doing a great job documenting and sharing your work - it’s exactly the kind of education and inspiration to save money, save energy, and build a better future that the world needs to see!