Serious Materials’ SeriousWindows Super-Insulating, High R-Value Windows Used in ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Washington D.C.
Extreme Makeover projects designed with Department of Energy guidance to serve as examples of new near zero energy, cost-effective building design
From our full press release today:
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sundays 8/7c on ABC) has come to the Washington D.C. metro area to demolish and rebuild two buildings – a community center and a residential home. Serious Materials, the leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., has donated its super-insulating SeriousWindows for use in both projects. With input and guidance from the Department of Energy (DOE) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a DOE Laboratory, each project is designed with advanced energy-efficient materials and serve as examples for cost-effective near-zero energy building design that can be accomplished today.
“Windows are absolutely critical to the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings,” said Jeff Christian of ORNL who served as the Zero Energy Home consultant for both projects. “Given our zero energy design goals for these projects, I immediately called upon Serious Materials for their super-insulating windows. To maximize insulation, visibility, and energy savings, we chose high R-value SeriousWindows. I couldn’t be more pleased that Serious Materials contributed to these projects.”
One measure of thermal insulation of a building is measured by R-value. The higher the R-value of a window, the better it insulates, keeping cool air indoors on hot days and warm air inside on cold days. The most common single and dual pane windows range between R-1 and R-3. Energy Star windows are in the R-2.5-2.8 range. SeriousWindows used in the Extreme Makeover projects are R-6 super-insulating windows, exceeding Energy Star performance by more than two times, resulting in drastically lower energy use, lower utility bills, and improved comfort for the buildings’ inhabitants.
“We are thrilled to participate in this project to showcase for consumers and building owners the dramatic difference super-insulating windows can make,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials “By installing SeriousWindows, you can not only cut up to 50% off of your energy bills, but you can also use more windows in the design of any home or building, and benefit from greater visibility, daylight, and more comfort all year round.”
Extreme Makeover will install super-insulating SeriousWindows throughout the newly built home and community center to save energy and maximize natural daylight and ventilation. SeriousWindows with SeriousGlass allows for solar heat in winter and blocks solar radiation in the summer.
About the Energy Performance of the New Near-Zero Energy Residential Home
According to ORNL, the computer simulation for the new construction of the near-zero energy home is designed to deliver an energy performance of 27, based on a scale of 100 being typical new residential construction and 0 being a true net zero energy home. The total estimated energy costs of the new home is expected to be less than $3 per day, compared to $10 per day of a conventional new home of the same size in the D.C. area. The annual whole house savings of the new near-zero energy home will be approximately $2500 per year.
About the Energy Performance of the New Community Center
Proper design and construction of schools and community centers ensures healthy and comfortable learning environments for children and all occupants. It has been extensively researched and proven that well designed classrooms improve tests scores, attendance, and retention of quality teachers and staff. High performance schools and community centers also save taxpayer dollars, conserve important energy resources, and reduce operating costs.
Super-insulating SeriousGlass in public buildings and schools also offers the most in energy savings and financial payback. According to Architectural Energy Corporation, SeriousGlass offers the highest annual energy savings, savings over 30 years, and fastest payback compared to typical glass solutions found in most schools in Washington D.C. today. With SeriousGlass, schools in the Washington D.C. area can save up to 20% compared to certain dual glazed systems. This amounts to a 30-year savings range of up to $4.8 million over double glazed windows. SeriousGlass delivers return on investment for Washington D.C. schools in as little as 18 months.
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