Thursday, February 18, 2010

Insulated Shades

Window Quilt Insulated Shades are 30% off Models 100 and 400, which have been retailing for $20.00 per square foot are going to $14.00 per square foot. Model 200 Velcro Panel Quilts which have been retailing for $12.00 per square foot will now be $8.40. Even replacement layers will be dropping -- by $2.00 per square foot.

Window Quilt qualifies for the 30% Residential Energy Tax Credit. Call or stop by for details and a copy of the measuring instructions.

Glass is one of the worst building materials in terms of heat loss. A single pane of glass has an R-value of 1, a double pane of glass has an R-2 and a triple pane of glass has an R-3. Windows typically represent about 14 percent of the overall loss of heat in a home. So it is more cost effective to weatherstrip, caulk and insulate your entire home before you begin to worry about the heat loss through the glass. Consider the idea that if the roof and walls of your house are uninsulated, heat loss from your windows is minimal. Once the building envelope of your home is well sealed, or if you are starting with a super insulated structure like one of our timber frame kits with structural insulated panels, it begins to make sense to plug up the only remaining holes in the house -- the windows. In a well insulated home, windows account for 30-50 percent of heat loss.
 
The secret to effective insulated shades is a tight seal on all four sides of the window. A seal completely isolates the cold surface of the window from the living space and stops or greatly reduces convection caused by the cool air touching the window and falling.
 
There are a number of ways of achieving that tight seal from tracks mounted on the wall for a curtain to ride in to a sdder system that clamps the shade to the window frame and even magentic and steel tape. Join us for a FREE one hour workshop, Intro to Insulated Shades to discuss insulated shades from those you can make to prefabricated kits that simply require installation and the pros and cons of each. February 27th 9:30-10:30

2 comments:

  1. I like insulated shades and support efforts to improve energy efficiency using them. I have several in my current home. However, I believe your R-value quotes for windows are a bit misleading. Those are probably true for simple glass with no e-coating, gas fill etc. However, most companys aren't selling crap that bad these days. Or at least they offer much better options. Here's just one example from a high end company. http://www.seriouswindows.com/SeriousWindowsTechnicalPerformanceSpecsFiberglass.pdf

    I'm currently making decisions on what windows and/or shades to put into my new home. Wish I could make your talk. Hope you will acknowledge that there are much better window options than you've implied in this email so people can make an informed decision about what the best way to spend their money on windows and shades.

    Dan

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  2. Dear Dan,

    Thank you for your comment. Certainly not all windows are created equal and some, with the inclusion of argon gas and low-e glass are able to acheive a higher R-Value. But for those who have windows existing in their homes the R-value can be as low as those I provided. I would strongly encourage each consumer to look critically at what they have or at the current options available in windows before making a decision. Regardless of what window you have the R-Value of that window cannot compete with the R-Value of a section of wall and the window could certainly be improved by an insulated shade. The question is by how much and that is determined by the components involved. Certainly SHOP and learn about the products -- our goal in providing these free workshops and blog posts is to make the information more accessible to more people.
    --Blueberry

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