Solar Energy in a New Home, or When Extensively Renovating an Old One

An architect can examine the energy performance of your house in terms of how each of the components—the insulation, windows, heating and cooling system, ventilation, and lighting— all work together. This approach, called “whole-house” design, allows the architect to optimize each of these components for your location to achieve the best energy performance at an […]


Tomorrow’s Options for More Efficient Windows

Part 3 of Advances in Glazing Materials for Windows. “Superwindows” now coming on the market can attain high thermal resistance by combining multiple low-e coatings; low-conductance gas fills; barriers between panes, which reduce convective circulation of the gas fill; and insulating frames and edge spacers. Also, optical properties such as solar transmittance can be customized […]